


Senju Naruto

by TheBeardedOne



Series: Senju Of Wave [1]
Category: Naruto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:00:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 45,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27687293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBeardedOne/pseuds/TheBeardedOne
Summary: In the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack on Konoha, the new vessel lies dead, slain by infiltrators unknown. Elsewhere, one of the Sannin has settled down to raise her new family, including a blue-eyed baby...
Series: Senju Of Wave [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2024669
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	1. Fugitive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Athy Arrow has adopted this story. [Find their version here.](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9869633/1/Senju-Naruto)

As smoke rose from the fires that had yet to be extinguished, the shinobi who were still mobile and not involved with ferrying their more-injured comrades to the healers began the long and depressing task of trying to fix the physical damage done during the rampage of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Those with superior strength collected the shattered trees, transporting them to clearings where other shinobi waited to transform the fallen lumber into planks and beams for use in rebuilding (or in too many cases, _replacing_ ) the buildings that had been damaged by the Biju's unexpected attack. The occasional Akimichi loomed over the forests as they used their clan Jutsu to help accelerate the clean-up, gathering entire trees like firewood while swarms of beetles sliced through branches that were barely still attached to the trees, sending them crashing to the ground to be collected.

Hatake Kakashi briefly removed his ANBU mask as he staggered back from the vast plain of shattered wreckage that had originally been a large forest and several districts of Konoha. Holding the scroll he had been tasked with delivering to the council, he took several deep breaths of the cooling night air and wiped away the runnels of perspiration that ran down the exposed portion of his face, then returned the cramic over-mask to its normal position.

Even though the area was filled with friendly shinobi, Kakashi's training cut in as he made his way towards his destination. His body language didn't show any trace of him being on an important mission with the potential to change all of Konoha, but instead he radiated the same exhaustion and tiredness as all those around him, thus letting him blend in without even needing the most subtle of genjutsu.

Finally, the noise of the clean-up and the beginnings of the reconstruction receded behind him, Kakashi dropped the cloak of his body language in favor of pure speed. Only a truly experienced Shinobi would have seen any trace of his tiredness in his smooth-yet-silent dash over the roofs of Konoha until he got close enough to the Hokage's tower to vanish in a Shunshin, leaving only a few short-lived leaves as a mark of his passing.

Only a truly astute observer who knew _exactly_ where to look would have seen him vanish through the genjutsu-disguised trapdoor near the base of the tower.

.

Passing through one of the many secret entrances of the tower, one reserved for the ANBU, Kakashi moved through the secret passages silently, half-bent to ensure that he didn't accidentally concuss himself on any of the beams in the low corridor. Although he was no longer trying to be stealthy, almost a decade of experience and reflex prevented him from making any noise and hard-earned combat experience kept his chakra signature muted. Reaching a well-oiled trapdoor set into an angled wall, he opened it slightly in preparation for a short-distance Shunshin that would place him exactly on the designated arrival point, then paused at the voice he heard from the council chamber below him.

"…and we have to move now. You heard our ally, the Hokage and the foreign bitch he married are both dead, and the kyuubi's sealed into Minato's brat. We'll be able to get all of those properties and those scrolls at last, just as soon as that demon-kid dies."

"But the child is apparently healthy." another voice said calmly. "And when Sarutobi recovers and reclaims the position of Hokage, he'll look after the kid. He'll either adopt it, or place it in a clan. We all know about our _beloved-Hokage's_ last wishes about his bastard being seen as a hero."

Kakashi's exposed eye widened at the scorn and vitriol of the voices below, but he waited in silence as the conversation continued.

"The Slug-princess has left just as planned, thinking the brat's dead, but the Toad-sage is returning soon." a third voice said. "Whatever we plan to do, we need to do it fast. And in a deniable way."

"You do not need to worry." Danzo's voice purred and Kakashi's blood seemed to turn to ice. "My men are almost in position. Before sunrise, they'll have replaced the demon-child with the body of an orphan conveniently killed in the attack. The brat will become Konoha's secret weapon, an emotionless killer with the power of the Kyuubi and total loyalty to Konoha and _only_ Konoha. And remember that according to legend, Bloodlimits are derived from jinchuurikis. Once the weapon hits puberty…"

Kakashi silently slid closed the hatch and backed away, suppressing his chakra as much as he could. The son of his Sensei was in danger, and although he didn't recognize some of the voices, he knew of Danzo both personally and by reputation. The old man was a merciless war-hawk willing to sacrifice his own men for his vision of how Konoha should be, a man who had protested when Kakashi's Sensei had been granted the position of Hokage. The boy deserved better than what Danzo planned for him and he obviously wasn't going to get any help or mercy from here.

The cold air of the night snapped Kakashi out of his near-stupor and he glanced round, realizing that he didn't actually remember traversing the passageway out. Seeing no-one nearby, Kakashi accelerated to the field-hospital where he knew the newborn Naruto was sleeping, unaware that he was an orphan… and the possessor of a burden that could spark wars beyond imagining if word of his power leaked out.

.

The section of the field-hospital holding the son of the Yondaime was silent. Although any bystanders kept away from the ANBU operatives who were positioned around the tent, they were unaware that the masked shinobi were not loyal to the Hokage but owed their allegiance to another. Even as the masked shinobi stood guard, they knew that their presence would soon not be needed once their fellow-ROOT operative completed his mission inside the tent.

The man reaching into the cot froze as the blade erupted from his chest. Eyes wide, but empty, he slowly toppled to the floor as Kakashi retrieved his tanto and wiped it with a cloth before re-sheathing it without even a whisper. The infant stirred slightly and Kakashi used a low-level sleep-jutsu to send him deep into a dreamless sleep before looking round at the bodies of those who had died trying to take Naruto, and the two true members of ANBU who had died trying to defend him. Picking up the bag that the intruders had intended to use, Kakashi carefully picked up the swaddled child and gently placed him into the bag, padding him with rolls of cloth before closing it. Placing it on the table, he closed his eyes briefly and summoned a Kage Bunshin. Together, they rapidly collected the equipment they would need for Naruto, then the clone looked surprised as Kakashi passed over his headband, mask and several weapons pouches that had been looted from the corpses.

"We're headed out. We'll mark the trees for the chasers, just like a standard pursuit, but we'll split at the big rock. You go to the Valley of the End, throw round some serious jutsu and scatter these like it was a real fight, then dispel. I'll get Naruto somewhere safe."

"Agreed." the clone said, then it looked at the second bag the intruders had brought. Glancing into it, the clone paled, then picked it up and put the bag over its shoulder. Kakashi raised an eyebrow and the clone sighed.

"ROOT made a damn good choice with their victim, he looks almost exactly like Naruto. They even did a fake seal and whisker-lines. I'll take his body, whoever he really was, and burn it. The remains will make them think that you and he are both dead."

Kakashi nodded, suppressing surprise that his clone had thought of something that he had overlooked. "Okay. Let's go."

Both of them vanished into the night, ghosting past the ROOT operatives with such skill that not a single one of Danzo's followers had even the slightest clue that their plan had failed. It would not be for another half-hour that any of them would begin to wonder about how long the mission was taking and their discipline would keep them on-station until a group of high-level ANBU arrived with orders to transfer the boy to an orphanage.

As their orders did not cover what to do in that case, they tried to retreat.

Of all the decisions that they could have made, the only one that could have been worse was actually attacking the new arrivals.

.

Nara Shikaku let the corpse of the final infiltrator drop, the shadows he had used unwinding themselves and returning to their normal state. Glancing round, he noted that the other infiltrators had also fallen, save for the one who had been allowed to escape and was being shadowed by Jonin Hyuuga Hizashi who was using his _Byakugan_ to keep track of where the fugitive was headed.

"Kamis-dammit!" A female voice yelled and the Clan Head of the Inuzukas almost ripped the tent flap as she stormed out. "I need a high-speed combat team! Kakashi's chasing another infiltrator who's got a high-level hostage!"

Shikaku glanced around and made a quick decision.

"Grab an Aburame and Hyuuga and move out! Maito! You good for heavy combat?"

The Taujutsu expert nodded, his normal exuberance completely absent and replaced by a cold, focused determination.

"Grab three more who you know are heavy hitters and move out!"

Even as he finished, Gai pointed to several shinobi, then set off after the trackers, the indicated fighters close on his heels.

.

As they raced through the wreckage that had once been a part of the walls of Konoha, Tsume choked and stumbled, as did her ninken.

"Tsume-sama?" The Aburame asked as Tsume staggered forwards, coughing and spluttering.

"Gyerk! Dammit, someone used a scent-bomb! My nose has gone numb…"

"Hatake-san left a sign." The Hyuuga chunin pointed to a tree where a triple-line was scored, having obviously been left by a trio of kunai held in one hand.

"My Kikkai are also affected by the scent to the point that they can only determine familiar scents and I do not have Hatake-san's." The Aburame Jonin reported, a slight hint of annoyance in his otherwise-calm voice. "We will have to rely on Hatake-san leaving a trail."

"Agreed." Kuromaru growled. "Let's get moving."

Tsume nodded in agreement with her partner.

.

Using the Kikkai that had landed on his hand as a reference point, Maito Gai and the trio of Heavy Assault Specialists raced through the woods, using branches as springboards to boost their progress. Although Gai could have moved almost half as fast again by himself, he was not so foolish as to believe that he could have completed the impromptu mission alone.

The Kikkai shifted slightly and Gai adjusted course accordingly, mentally thanking the Aburame ahead of them for his aid. Although Gai was trained as a tracker, he was nowhere near the levels that the Hyuuga, Inuzuka and Aburame clans regularly attained.

Not that he was annoyed by that fact.

Everyone had specialties and his was hand-to-hand combat. With his finely-honed skills, only a master of _nin_ jutsu could equal him, such as his too-hip-and-too-cool friend and rival who was far ahead of them.

He only hoped that Kakashi would leave enough of the enemies alive for him to demonstrate his prowess.

.

The clone of Kakashi placed the corpse of the unknown boy upon a rock near the feet of the statue of Senju Hashirama's statue, then stepped back, throwing his ceramic mask aside so that it hit the cliff-face and cracked. With a sigh, the clone moved his hands to form several seals.

" _Katon; Karyudan_."

A stream of fire struck the corpse, causing the scent of burnt flesh to fill the air as part of the lower torso was incinerated. Stepping back, the clone bowed deeply.

"I thank you for your sacrifice. It will not be in vain."

For a long moment, the clone remained still, then he sighed.

"Ah well, I guess it's time to start making a scene."

A quick blur of hands caused several sprays of rock to erupt, smashing into the trees lining the valley, then the clone began moving around the area, unleashing fire techniques to create large burn marks, moving rocks to create areas that were promptly studded with kunai and shuriken, some of them wind-infused to allow them to pierce straight through. After several minutes and a couple of low-level lightning jutsu, the clone turned to face the statues.

"Almost out of chakra. Might as well finish with a bang…"

.

Inuzuka Tsume erupted from the treeline and landed in the middle of the valley, her clawed hands poised to attack or defend. After a long moment, she rose from her feral crouch and looked round, first to check for hostiles, then again to take in the sheer damage that had occurred.

"What the hell?" She muttered to herself, then her eye was caught by the small, burned corpse near the waterfall.

"…oh no…"

.

* * *

.

"WHAT!"

The entire council stared at the ANBU messenger, faces blank in shock and dismay. The masked ANBU repeated his report almost emotionlessly.

"Hatake Kakashi, code-name Inu, discovered that a group of unknown shinobi had somehow penetrated the perimeter under the rtense of being ANBU operatives and killed the operatives assigned to safeguard Yondaime Hokage's son, Jinchuuriki Naruto. The unknown Shinobi escaped with Hatake in hot pursuit. When reinforcements discovered the situation and the message Hatake had left, they also went in pursuit, following the trail Hatake had marked. Despite encountering anti-tracking techniques designed to neutralize the Inuzuka and Aburame capabilities, the team managed to maintain pursuit, thanks in no small part to the signs which Hatake left behind.  
"Sadly, the team arrived too late. Hatake managed to catch up with the unknown shinobi at the Valley of the End. They fought, and Yondaime's son was killed by a fire technique during the battle. Hatake is believed to be deceased, we found his headband, mask and much of his gear around the battlefield, but the surviving enemy shinobi must have taken his body, probably for his Sharingan eye."

"Are we sure Kakashi was really there?" Hyuuga Hiashi asked and the Anbu nodded.

"One of the statues was damaged by a Chidori, a technique unique to Hatake. From the impact crater, we believe… that Hatake was performing a suicide attack. The crater was far smaller then normal for a Chidori according to Specialist Maito Gai, and the shape… suggests that the Chidori failed within a second of the impact. Chakra exhaustion is the only explanation which fits the facts available."

"How do we know that the Jinchuuriki was killed?" another councilor asked.

"We identified his remains at the scene." the ANBU replied woodenly. "We buried them and erected a headstone. It seemed somehow appropriate that the son of the Fourth should be buried at the feet of the statue of the First."

"A wise choice." Sarutobi said sorrowfully. "I shall announce this to the village tomorrow. You are dismissed. All of you."

The ANBU vanished and the council rose and filed out, glancing back at the old man who had once been Hokage and was once more. The door clicked shut and Sarutobi didn't move. He simply stared at nothing, unmoving, ignoring the tears that ran down his cheeks and fell onto the council table.

.

Danzo double-checked that the door to his office was closed and locked, then he threw his walking stick against the wall in a rare display of emotion.

"Damn the man!" He ranted as he stomped around his office. "I was about to get my hands on the greatest weapon ever and… and…"

Danzo slowed as a thought occurred to him.

"…and I was not the only one who knew about it." He said slowly. "That group that Orochimaru is part of, the Akatsuki, _they_ were interested in the Kyuubi as well."

Danzo sat behind his desk and stroked his scarred chin with his hand as he continued to puzzle out what could have occurred to upset his schemes.

"They were interested in the Kyuubi and it would not be impossible for Orochimaru to have somehow discovered my plans to seize the weapon, despite how fast I moved. Maybe he was monitoring the situation and when he saw that I was making my move, he decided to use my own moves to conceal his…  
"...the question is, did the Jinchuuriki _really_ die, or did he use the fake I ordered to be made to make us _believe_ that the weapon is no more while they raise it to be loyal to them?"

The dark, shadowy office offered no answers and Danzo sat motionless as his brain examined the new problem from all angles.

With the weapon no longer his to claim and control, how could he ensure Konoha's superiority over the other villages?

.

* * *

.

"People of Konoha!" Hiruzen's voice echoed across the village, amplified by the fuuinjutsu arrays that had been applied to the inward-curving shade-providing pillars when the tower had been first constructed. "People of Konoha, today we mourn.  
"The last week has been one of the worst in Konoha's history. We have lost many of our best Shinobi, many of our valued and cherished civilians and the Yondaime Hokage, my successor, Namikaze Minato, sacrificed himself to put an end to the threat we faced. It was he who stopped the unbridled rage and fury of the Kyuubi no Kitsune that sought to destroy all that we hold dear.  
"By using his skills in Fuuinjutsu, Minato sought to seal away the Kyuubi no Kitsune into one whom he could trust above all others. Using his prowess and aided by his wife, Uzumaki Kushina, they spent their lives to enchain the Biju and place it within their son, Uzumaki Naruto, seeking to allow him to grow up as a Shinobi of Konoha, able to use the beast's power to protect this village."

The silence across the village was so intense that even the distant birdsong seemed to merely emphasize the attentive stillness.

"That was his plan, that his legacy would grow, being cherished and trained by Konoha until he could master the burden placed upon him, but to my great sorrow, it was not to be.  
"Barely an hour had passed after his birth before he was stolen from us by an enemy agent seeking to seize his power and turn it against us! The son of the Yondaime was stolen by those seeking to forge him into a weapon to strike us down with!"

Hiruzen paused as the massed cries of sorrow and rage struck almost in a solid blow. Waiting for a long moment, he raised his hand and with the sheer force of his personality and projected Intent, the crowd fell silent once more.

"The scheme was discovered by one of the greatest shinobi to serve in our ranks, Hatake Kakashi, the son of the White Fang and the student of the Yondaime. When he realized that his Sensei's son had been stolen, Kakashi set out in pursuit. Injured and exhausted although he may have been, he knew his duty and so he set out to hunt down those who had stolen the young Uzumaki Naruto, marking his path so that others could follow to assist him… or to _avenge_ him should he fall.  
"We will never know what truly happened, but we do know that he caught up with the kidnapper at the Valley of the End. We do not know how many enemies there were, where they were from or who gave them orders, but Hatake Kakashi engaged them in ferocious combat, in a battle which reshaped the very valley itself!  
"Sadly, it was also his last battle as he fell. Had he not been exhausted from combating the Biju, had he not been mourning his Sensei… had the reinforcements arrived fast enough, he would be with us still."

Apart from several cries of shock and sadness, the crowd remained silent.

"During the battle, Uzumaki Naruto died. We can only assume it was so that he could not be returned to us. His body was left in the Valley, but when he died, he took the Kyuubi with him. The fell beast which tried to kill us all is no more… but the price… the price was too high.  
"Kakashi's body was taken by the survivors of those who had sought to take our hero and use him against us, leaving only Naruto's corpse behind. He has been buried at the foot of the statue of Senju Hirashima and I have signed orders for a C-rank mission every month for a team to travel to the valley to maintain his grave. His sacrifice will not be forgotten.  
"Make no mistake, we have been injured gravely, but even now, we are rebuilding! We shall not let adversity quench the Will of Fire, but we shall stand tall and proud! Let us remember the example set by Jonin Hatake Kakashi who gave of his life to protect us all against those who would see us slain or scattered! Let us live our lives as he would have wished, with honor, with courage and giving our strength to each other as others lend their strength to us in turn!  
"We have been hurt, but we shall emerge stronger!  
"And we shall always remember the Yondaime, his son and his student!"  
"For Konoha and the future!"

The noise from the crowd wasn't cheering, but a roar of determination which promised vengeance on those who had slain the son of their beloved leader.

.

"No doubt about it, the Kyuubi Jinchuriki is dead." said one of the cloaked figures. "The seal on the kid must have been extraordinary since it seems to have prevented the Kyuubi from being dissipated and reborn when the boy was killed. The Kyuubi is… gone."

"That is… unfortunate." said another one. "Without all nine of the Biju, the plan cannot go ahead. You are _positive_ it is not going to be reborn?"

"Zetsu scoured the entirety of the Land of Fire." the first figure replied. "There was no trace of the Kyuubi's chakra. The Jinchuriki was killed in the Valley of the End and his grave is there. It is occupied, and the Leaf Shinobi are too compassionate to have killed a random child just to mislead others. There is no doubt, the Kyuubi is no more."

For several minutes, a heavy silence descended on the group, then the second figure spoke. "For the Jinchuriki to have been killed so quickly, someone must have sabotaged their security. Someone must be moving against us. Someone from the Leaf, someone who knows about us and what we wanted."

"Danzo." another voice stated and the first figure nodded.

"I agree. That is the only conclusion available. Orochimaru. You know Konoha the best. Go there, locate Danzo and kill him. He has broken the agreement we had, he must die so that all know the consequences of such an act. Do not let him escape or try to blackmail his way out of his fate. He must be dead within the week."

"As you command, Leader-sama." A pale-skinned figure almost hissed.

"I must withdraw and meditate about this. Of all the things I had predicted, even I had not foreseen that the Kyuubi would be truly destroyed. And if the Kyuubi is no more, will the other Biju be destroyed as well, now that it is proven that it can be done, or has the technique died with the caster?"

"I will check with my sources, although they probably will not know." Orochimaru said and the leader nodded.

"So long as you try, and report on your findings, that will be fine. Go now."

Orochimaru's chakra silhouette seemed to flicker and fade, then the leader turned to face another of the members.

"Sasori. Your intelligence network surpasses that of all others."

"Find out just what happened to the kid and who's got the cyclops' body." Sasori nodded. "I'll have my agents keep watch for any non-Uchiha who suddenly gains a Sharingan."

"Excellent. Perhaps we will be able to find those who have interfered with our plan and then we can… express our displeasure with them."

"As you command, Leader-sama." Sasori stated as his image vanished.

.

The silence around the table was broken as one of the trio lifted the saucer of Sake in front of him and took a sip.

"Hell of a loss." The blond grumbled as he returned the saucer to the table.

"Hokage, Biju, Legendary Jonin and Heir." The scarred man sat to his left agreed. "Konoha's standing is going to plummet."

"The Sandaime is back under the hat." The largest one protested. "That'll buy us some time… right?"

"It's not that simple, Choza." The dark-haired man countered. "Konoha's taken a huge hit. We're having to make some serious changes to keep our strength up."

"I heard that Hiruzen's old team-mates tried to get him to accept them as his Advisers once again." Inoichi noted and Skikaku chuckled darkly.

"Their first suggestion was to steal Taki's Jinchuuriki. Hiruzen kicked them out."

"Then who is he having as his advisors?" Choza asked curiously.

"Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuuga Hiashi."

Inoichi and Choza both jolted in shock, Inoichi spilling the Sake that he had been about to drink.

"What?"

Shikaku's lips twitched at the unintentional chorus.

"We need to look strong. Bringing our two most powerful clans into the inner circles of power helps with that. Don't think that it's without a price, though. The Hyuuga are being tasked with creating a new seal for their people, one that _can't_ be used to take down the one it's applied to. The Uchiha are being reassigned back to proper fieldwork and are bringing shinobi from other clans into the Police Force to fill the resultant vacancies. They're still in charge of it and will remain so, but with more of their own in the field and others amongst their ranks, it looks like their slow separation from the rest of the Shinobi forces is being reversed."

"The Hyuuga are being set up to re-unite their clan and the Uchiha are being made to actually integrate fully?" Inoichi shook his head in disbelief. "How is the old man getting away with this?"

"Because both clans see the prize and are willing to pay the price for it." Shikaku refilled his saucer. "Fugaku's already trying to get his Heir into ANBU."

"Kid did good in the field." Choza noted, reaching for the bottle. "I heard he's already being considered for Jonin…"


	2. Travelling

Kakashi smiled down at the sleeping infant he held in his arms as he walked into the small town, his ragged yet still waterproof cloak (purchased with part of his shrinking supply of tradeable items) flapping slightly in the morning breeze. Glancing round, he froze as he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.

"No. Kami. Damned. Way."

The figure vanished into a hotel and Kakashi ran after it. Dashing through the doorway, he found himself yanked off his feet and slammed into a wall, a hand stronger than steel clamped around his throat.

"I have had a _very bad day_!" Tsunade hissed at him. "I've just put my orphaned niece to bed, found out that two of my best friends are dead as well as the student of one of those friends, heard that my old home has been half-flattened and now I have a bounty hunter after me! How much do I owe to whom _now_?"

Unable to speak due to the vice-like grip on his throat, Kakashi raised Naruto up so that the furious Sannin could see him. Tsunade looked at him in confusion, then her eyes widened.

"Is… is that…?"

Kakashi nodded and Tsunade released him.

"I recognize that hair… Come with me. I need a drink and _we_ need to talk."

.

"…and so we came here." Kakashi finished as Tsunade held a sleeping Naruto in her arms. "Finding you was unexpected, but I decided to take full advantage."

"You had no real plans, hmmm?"

"None whatsoever." Kakashi confirmed. "I have no family left, except Naruto, the son of my Sensei. When I heard what that bastard Danzo had planned, I promised myself I would take care of him, but…" he shrugged and looked up pleadingly, "I don't know how. I'm almost out of money and have no-one I can trust to look after him while I earn some more. Please, Tsunade-hime, help me keep Naruto safe."

Tsunade sighed. "Alright. As it happens, I have access to some of my clan accounts. I was hoping to never need to tap them, but… we need a safe place. And not a Hidden Village, we'll be too obvious in one of those. Naruto needs somewhere that no-one knows of his family… of you or me."

"He can't use his clan-name." Kakashi said quietly. "Nor can I, for that matter. Not until he's old enough, trained enough to defend himself from those who want to abuse his power."

Tsunade nodded slowly, then her eyes brightened.

"We'll go to Wave. They have no Hidden Villages, no history of Shinobi and they're loosely allied with the Land of Fire, which means that no-one will be expecting fugitives from the Leaf to stop there. We can set up there as medics, I'll see to Naruto's medical and physical training. You have the Sharingan, how many jutsu do you have?"

"Couple of hundred…" Kakashi mused and Tsunade nodded.

"Copy-cat Kakashi. Okay, get some sleep. We leave tomorrow. Once we get set up in Wave, I'll work on getting your Chakra reserves up, they're too low, even with your white chakra giving you a boost. Once Naruto's old enough, we can train him to be a real Shinobi. Oh, one more thing. From now on, you'll both call me Kaa-san."

Kakashi's uncovered eye widened and Tsunade's grin widened.

"Yep, I've just adopted you both. Now, I don't think that there are any spare rooms available, so…"

"I'll sleep in the corner." Kakashi shrugged. "It's not like it's the first time."

.

"…so _cute_!" Shizune whispered as she looked down at the sleepy infant she was cradling. Tsunade frowned as she finished running her diagnostics.

"He's going to need more nutrients than he's getting now if he's to grow up properly." She mused. "Normally, I'd recommend the special formula milk powder be used, but outside a Hidden Village, that's just too hard to get."

Kakashi winced. "I've been doing the best that I can…"

"I'm not blaming you." Tsunade said soothingly. "Ideally, I'd have him breast-fed, but I don't know of any wet-nurses that I would trust enough for…"

Tsunade ground to a halt.

"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune prompted. "What did you just think of?"

Tsunade looked down at herself for a long moment, then shook her head. "Maybe… no, it won't work. Damned jutsu interactions."

"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune prompted again, then her eyes widened. "Were you thinking of…"

"What?" Kakashi asked blankly as Naruto began to fuss, then he reflexively cradled Naruto as Shizune passed the baby to him.

"Kakashi, make up whatever formula you were using and feed him. Tsunade and I are going to talk."

"Shizune, I can't ask you to…" Tsunade protested, only to stop as Shizune reached out and placed a finger across her lips.

"No, you can't." She agreed. "But _I_ can volunteer."

"…what?" Kakashi asked again, fully aware that he was missing something but not sure what it was.

"Dammit… Here." Tsunade tossed a small purse onto the table, then lifted Naruto out of Kakashi's arms. "Get some supplies for us so that we can leave at sunrise tomorrow, then try to rest up. It's going to be quite a journey to Wave and even though we'll be going via the trees, we'll need to stop every so often. Don't worry about getting more formula milk powder, though."

Kakashi nodded, then scooped up the purse and hurried off as a certain scent reached his nose.

"Bring back some nappies too!" Tsunade called after him. "Shizune, are you _certain_?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then let's get back to our room so we can begin. Just before we left, I managed to create a variant which works almost instantly, although it does rely on..."

Kakashi frowned in confusion as the voices were cut off by the door closing behind him. Just what were the two of them talking about?

At least Naruto was safe. It was hard to find a safer place than in the hands of the Slug Sannin, after all.

.

* * *

.

The ground below scrolled past as Kakashi kept position on Tsunade's right while on Tsunade's left, Shizune kept pace. Turning his head slightly, Kakashi glanced across at the sleeping bundle in Tsunade's arms, then he resumed scanning the foliage around them.

"We're making good progress." Tsunade noted and Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"How's Naruto?"

"Sleeping." Tsunade replied, a smile in her voice. "It helps that I used an _Iryonin_ technique to encourage him to rest. He'll wake up when he gets hungry."

Ducking under a branch that was growing at _just_ the wrong height (which also reassured him as it indicated that their route was not one of the unofficial ninja pathways), Kakashi glanced round again. A shadow ahead caught his attention, then it rose, revealing itself to be just a bird.

"Jumpy?" Tsunade inquired and Kakashi opened his mouth to deny it, then reconsidered his words.

"Maybe a little." He finally admitted. "It's just… while I was getting the supplies, it occurred to me that what I've done could be called kidnapping at the very least and possibly even _treason_. I've had to hunt down traitors before and…"

"I'm still technically a Konoha Shinobi, so it isn't really treason." Tsunade pointed out with a smile.

"You're also technically just a _Tokubetsu Jonin_." Kakashi fired back. "I am… I _was_ a full Jonin."

"He has a point, Lady Tsunade." Shizune giggled. "You chose to leave before you could get that final promotion."

"I'm also a Sannin." Tsunade sniffed.

"Which is not an actual rank, my lady." Shizune countered.

" _Shizune!"_ Tsunade protested, then she gave up and chuckled ruefully.

"Not that ranks really mean anything, now." Kakashi admitted as he moved slightly higher to avoid another errant branch. "You have the plan, you're in charge."

"I can also punch through castle walls as if they were dried bamboo." Tsunade pointed out.

"I had taken that into account." Kakashi dead-panned, causing the two women to laugh, then Tsunade spoke.

"I think we'll need to stop in another moment or two. Shizune?"

"I'm ready, my lady."

Kakashi blinked.

Ready for what?

.

"I had no idea that it was possible to…" Kakashi trailed off as he carefully faced away from where Shizune was sat on a fallen tree, providing Naruto with the nutrition that he needed.

"You're a _man_." Tsunade pointed out as she sat beside Shizune, checking both of them with her jutsu. "Techniques like this are generally seen as female-only and with good reason."

Kakashi shrugged slightly as he used a wind-enhanced kunai to cut into a short log, carving three gouges from one end to halfway down. Returning the kunai to its pouch, he pushed several small twigs and some of the sawdust into the star-shaped cuts, then used a small jutsu to ignite it.

"That's clever." Tsunade noted as she rose from beside Shizune and walked over to examine the single-log fire. "Stones to keep it upright and it burns from the inside out."

"Also provides a surface to do things like boil water." Kakashi agreed as he unsealed a metal cooking-set and filled the saucepan with water from his water-bottle before placing it atop the log. Rummaging through the backpack by his side, he pulled out a packet of dried meat, rice and herbs, opening it so that it emptied into the water. "We'll have some stew soon."

"Good." Shizune commented. "Feeding Naruto-chan is making _me_ feel hungry."

Tsunade looked around with a measuring eye. "Although we could continue, I think it would be better to camp here overnight as it looks like it might be going to rain soon and then we can continue tomorrow morning. This is one of the better places for camping that I have seen and no-one's trying to catch us…"

"Agreed." Shizune said as she shifted Naruto so he could continue his interrupted feeding.

"…so I'll do the cooking and you set up the tarpaulins."

Kakashi willingly relinquished his place by the small fire and started pulling out ropes to anchor the canvas roofs to the branches with.

.

"That was a wonderful meal." Shizune sighed as she lay back against one of the backpacks, Naruto asleep in her arms. Beyond the area sheltered by the angled canvas, rain pattered down and near the edge, a second log smoldered, lit from an ember of the first one that was now just a pile of damp ash being washed away.

"I agree." Kakashi yawned as he adjusted how he was resting against his own pack. "Trying to make progress in this weather… it wouldn't be _hard_ , but it would be annoying."

"And miserable." Shizune added. "Hopefully it should clear up overnight."

Tsunade nodded, then snuggled down onto the temporary mattress that she'd put together from sticks, rope and a piece of canvas. "Looks like it should. I'll take third watch."

"Actually, I think it would be best for you and I to split watches given Shizune-san's responsibility." Kakashi nodded to where Shizune was already dozing off, arms wrapped around Naruto who was asleep in his sling.

"You may be right." Tsunade sighed. "First or second?"

"I'll take first watch."

"Okay." Tsunade yawned. "Goodnight."

.

Tsunade snapped awake as a kunai landed by her bed.

"Your turn on watch." Kakashi whispered and Tsunade glanced up at the now-clear night sky, then blinked.

"Did you just take a _double_ watch?"

Kakashi tried to look innocent. "Me?"

"I may be older than you, but I'm _not_ decrepit yet!" Tsunade protested, keeping her voice down in an attempt to let Shizune and Naruto sleep undisturbed, then she sighed and swung her legs off her bed. "Here, get some sleep while… huh. I see you've prepared another log. Good, I can brew some tea and prepare some onigiri for later."

Kakashi waited until Tsunade had vacated her bed, then rolled onto it.

"Comfy, isn't it?" Tsunade asked, then she paused, looking at the motionless shinobi. "Huh, out like a cheap candle."

Smiling gently, she turned back to the smoldering log and started pouring rice into a saucepan, ready to boil and prepare it so that they could eat it for their lunch.

.

* * *

.

The sounds of the distant birds were echoed by the wildlife in the woods ahead of them as Tsunade and her entourage disembarked from the fisherman's boat, making their way down the jetty to where the path led towards their intended destination. Behind them, the fisherman cast off and headed out once more to continue his normal livelihood, his brief yet profitable jaunt as a ferryman over.

"If we take to the trees again, we should be at the main village within an hour." Tsunade noted, then she glanced back. "Shizune?"

"He's asleep again." Shizune smiled. "That feeding on the boat filled him up."

"At least he didn't need changing." Kakashi noted as he adjusted his backpack. "Apparently, the mayor died a while back and a builder named Tazuna's taken charge… well, according to what I was told, he was put into position as the new leader without anyone really asking him."

"Huh." Tsunade slowed down for a moment. "Sounds almost familiar for some reason."

For several paces, she mused about it, then she shrugged.

"We're burning daylight." She stated. "Let's move!"

Kakashi sighed as Tsunade vanished into the trees, leaving a small crater behind, then Shizune followed without the explosive acceleration. Watching her vanish into the canopy, Kakashi did a quick _shunshin_ to put him above a branch, allowing him to bring up the rear.

.

Landing almost soundlessly, in contrast to her initial acceleration, Tsunade looked around.

"Well, we're here. Now, how do we find this Tazuna person?"

"We could ask?" Kakashi half-joked as he strolled over to where an old man was sat outside what seemed to be a bar, a large flagon of something in his hand. "Good morning to you, sir."

The man gave him a long look, then a slight nod of acknowledgement.

"I was wondering if you could provide us with directions. We were hoping to talk to Tazuna about moving into the village."

The seated man took a long swig from his drink, then gave another nod before pointing to the solitary tower in the center of the village.

"'e's in there."

"Thank you." Kakashi bowed, then returned to Tsunade's side.

"I heard." She stated before he could say anything. "Let's go."

Walking down the street, Kakashi looked round curiously. Although it was certainly nowhere near the size of Konoha, it also was not the smallest village that he had ever visited as a Shinobi and the way the people were generally happy told him that it was a peaceful, prosperous place.

Reaching the tower, Tsunade paused, then knocked on the door-frame.

"One moment!" A voice called. "Okay, you got this?"

"I do."

"Then do it _right_ this time."

"Gotcha."

A middle-aged man slipped past Tsunade, a rolled up piece of paper held in one hand, then a second, older man appeared.

"Good morning." Tsunade said with a slight smile. "We are sorry to interrupt, but we are looking for Tazuna?"

"You found him." The man replied. "What can I help you with?"

"My family and I were hoping to find a place to live." Tsunade gave a slight shrug. "My niece and I are medics?"

"Like Tsunade?" Tazuna asked, then he frowned as Shizune giggled and nodded towards Tsunade. "No."

"Yes." Tsunade nodded. "I am Senju Tsunade and with me are my niece, Shizune, and my sons, Senju Kashi and Senju Ruto."

"Yo." Kakashi drawled, lifting one hand in a slight wave.

"H… hello…" Tazuna managed. "Erm… _really_ …?"

Tsunade sighed, then moved to where a large foundation stone was waiting to be put on a cart. With no sign of strain, she picked it up one-handed and placed it in the cart, causing several of the watchers to gasp in awe.

"Wow! You really _are_ Tsunade!" Tazuna gasped. "How can I help you?"

.

"Well, while it does need a bit of fixing up, it certainly has some potential." Tsunade mused as she stood in front of the wide mansion with angled wings which seemed to cradle the courtyard. "Close enough to the village to reach it in moments, far enough away that we don't have to worry about a constant flow of idiots moaning for hangover cures or people who can't be bothered to take preventative measures against sniffles. Kashi, your opinion?"

Kakashi blurred into visibility behind Tazuna and stepped round the startled architect. "I've looked round. It needs quite a bit of work, shingles replacing, a few walls could do with repairing and a couple of the windows could do with some glazing, but it's _almost_ livable at this time. The garden needs some serious work before we can grow anything there, though."

"I spotted quite a few medicinal herbs on the way!" Shizune chimed in, looking up from the sleeping face of her adoptive cousin. "We can transfer some and grow a proper medicinal garden, it'll be really useful."

Tsunade nodded, looking up at the peeling façade of the large mansion.

"Oh, I found a couple of interesting rooms at the back." Kakashi added. "One of them is a purpose-built multi-story library and reading room, although the walkways are so damaged that simply removing them may be for the best. We can always use the tree-walking method to reach the higher shelves, which will also help stop the untrained from reaching them and trying to do things that they can't do. The wing next to it would be good as a hospital."

Tsunade nodded, then half-turned to look at the grey-haired fisherman standing beside her.

"Tell the village council that we'll take it and I'll arrange for the payment to be transferred to the village coffers." she said with a slight smile. "You have yourself a medic. But I don't do hangovers."

"Thank you. Thank you." Tazuna said with a wide grin. "That is marvelous. Our own medics at last… the house will be yours and we'll provide whatever materials you need to fix it up with at no extra cost. Heck, I'm sure that the others'll be happy to pop up and help out a bit whenever they have a free hour or so."

"Thank you." Tsunade said. "We'll do our best to help in the village when we've got some spare time, but I'm afraid that for a while we'll be busy fixing up this place. If there are any emergencies such as broken bones or similar, don't hesitate to come and get me."

Tazuna bowed.

"Will you need any help getting your luggage up the track?"

"We'll be fine, thank you." Kakashi said.

"Then I should probably be going." Tazuna said with another bow. "Good luck, and thank you."

They watched as Tazuna vanished round the first corner of the twisting track that led to the village, then Tsunade turned and strode through the open doors and into the main lobby of the large, abandoned mansion. Looking round, she gave a small nod.

"Okay, we'll turn this hall into a pharmacy so we can hand out medicines quickly to those who want them. Kashi, is that wing over there the one that you thought would be a good hospital?"

"Yes, Kaa-san."

"I'll take a look soon. According to the plans I saw, the main wing is at the back, let's find some rooms and set up the sleeping rolls, then check out the kitchen. I hope it's in good shape, I'm getting hungry. Shizune?"

Shizune looked up from where she was playing with Naruto, letting him grip her finger and smiling at him as she pretended to try and wrestle the finger from his grasp.

"Yes, Kaa-san?"

"Come on, let's get ourselves sorted."

"Yes, Kaa-san."

.

"Well, this is…" Kakashi looked round what had been the bathing room. Although it was still structurally sound, the broken windows just under the roof-line had allowed wildlife to enter, meaning that the remaining water in the main bath was somewhat brackish and animal tracks wove through the leaf-strewn floor.

"It's going to take quite a bit of time to clean up." Tsunade agreed as she poked around. "It looks like the water is not heated by fire but an electrical system… but where did the power come from?"

"I don't remember seeing any cables." Kakashi admitted. "Perhaps the wires are buried? I'll go out and take a look."

Moving to the outer door, Kakashi struggled for a moment, then the lock finally gave in to his lock-picking skills, allowing him to slide both halves of the door open.

"Quite a view." Tsunade noted as she took in the panorama of the large (albeit somewhat overgrown) field and the ocean beyond. "There's even an _outdoors_ pool!"

Kakashi moved round the pool in question, then he sank into the rocky ground on the far side. Tsunade made her way onto the flagstone patio and looked down with a wince.

"That's going to need a _lot_ of cleaning before I risk letting anyone try to soak in it… wait. Does it fill from the _inside_ bath?"

.

"Found it and it's intact." Kakashi called as he jogged up to where Tsunade was using _suiton_ jutsu to do preliminary cleaning of the bathing room. "Looks like an Uzushiogakure design, it has the generator above a whirlpool basin with blades going down into where the vortex will form. The wiring seems solid and the breakers are good, so all we need to do to have power is open the sluice gate."

"How much power will it create?" Tsunade asked as she picked up a broom and started pushing the sludge away from the tub.

"More than we can use, even with quite a bit going to the water filtration system which I still need to have a good look at." Kakashi shrugged. "There's a building next to the generator filled with what look like flywheels. My guess is that the generator uses them to store the excess power and prevent power surges."

"That's quite an advanced design." Tsunade noted. "We'll have to check it all out… and check the mansion to see if any instructions were left."

"But it'll make our lives a lot easier once it's running." Kakashi picked up a second broom and joined Tsunade in cleaning the flagstones. "Given the angle that the pipes come in on, we could probably put in a secondary pipe and turn one of the ground-floor rooms of the hospital wing into a bathing room as well."

"Better make it four." Tsunade smiled as she stepped back to see if any sludge had escaped. "Two for men, two for women. If we get staff, they can use this one with us."

Kakashi started to say something, then paused, sniffing the air. Curious, Tsunade inhaled deeply, then smiled.

"It seems that Shizune is making…"

"Food's ready!" Shizune's voice echoed. "Come and get it!"

Tsunade put the broom away, then turned to find that Kakashi had already vanished.

"Hey!" She called as she ran towards the kitchen. "Wait for me!"

.

"That was _amazing_." Tsunade sighed as she rubbed her stomach. Shizune smiled as she picked up Naruto from his crib, her eyes crinkling with amusement as Kakashi quickly turned his chair round to give her some privacy. "Shizune, if you ever decide you don't wish to follow the path of the _Iryonin_ , you would make a great chef. That was a meal that an Akamichi would be proud to have made."

Shizune blushed as she finished arranging Naruto. "You're too kind, my lady."

Tsunade smiled, then gave another contented sigh. "Out of interest, did you find any bedding here?"

"There were some mattresses in one of the attics and one of the linen cupboards still had sheets in it." Shizune replied. "I put your things in the Master Bedroom, Kakashi…"

"It's just _Kashi_ now, Shizune." Tsunade gently corrected and Shizune blushed again.

"Sorry, my lady. As I was saying, on the floor below yours are four rooms. I've put my things and… _Kashi_ 's things in two of those rooms. When Na… I mean, when _Ruto_ gets older, he can move from my room to one of the two spare rooms."

"Has my vote." Kakashi said as he rose from his chair, carefully not looking anywhere near where Shizune was feeding Naruto. "Anyone mind if I check my room out?"

"Not a problem." Tsunade chuckled. Once he'd vanished, she turned to Shizune. "Anyone would think he'd never seen a lady's breasts before."

"Don't tease him." Shizune gently chided her. "I think it's cute, in a way."

"He is two years younger than you are." Tsunade noted and Shizune nodded, having heard the slight apology in Tsunade's tone.

.

Kakashi unpacked his bag with all the speed and efficiency of an Elite ANBU, then flopped onto his bed, closing his eye as he ran through several mental exercises he had been taught.

"Damned puberty." He grumbled to himself. "Go to stay professional… Sensei's son is relying on me…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The water turbine design mentioned is a valid one and several have been installed in real life.


	3. Settling

Tsunade looked round at the empty hospital wing with a sense of pride. Although it still lacked things like proper privacy screens (although old bed sheets on bamboo frames were doing the job adequately for now) and much of the equipment that she normally refused to do without, the polished tile floor, whitewashed walls and repainted ceiling made it clear that it was a place where the health of the inhabitants was of paramount importance.

Even with the need for one of them to be with Naruto at any given time, they had made significant progress to the point that she could now take in a patient (or six) even though they had been working towards this point for just two months.

The room (and its beds) were not the only sign of how well they had established themselves. The herb garden behind the mansion (currently populated by plants that Shizune had transplanted, although Tsunade fully intended to order in seeds and cuttings to increase the variety and utility of it) was thriving and the willow trees flanking it had already proved their worth, allowing Tsunade to make several batches of painkillers from the carefully-harvested leaves and bark.

With the power restored, the kitchen had become far easier to use while the bathing room was now fully supplied with as much hot water as Tsunade could want. The library was still mainly empty, but that was in no small part due to the sheer number of shelves and scroll-holders which adorned the walls and support pillars. Her entire library in the Senju mansion could have fitted five times into the mansion's library and she hoped to one day transfer it.

Even her old fear of blood had receded thanks to Tazuna's daughter Tsunami. The girl had seen how Tsunade flinched from a graze and had asked why. Although Tsunami was only barely a year older than Shizune, Tsunade had found herself answering and in doing so, facing the reasons behind her phobia, albeit reluctantly. While she still hated the sight of blood, she was now able to focus enough to get past it, although she still found the thought of actually doing surgery to be… distasteful.

Turning, Tsunade moved silently down the corridor until she emerged into the entry hall, now almost unrecognizable from how it had been. Benches ran around almost half of the perimeter while a quarter of the room was separated from the rest by a waist-high counter. In the sectioned-off area were several stone work surfaces and burners carefully arranged to allow medicines to be produced and dispensed as efficiently as possible.

Although the stairs themselves were not blocked off, a grateful artisan (whose hand Shizune had saved under Tsunade's guidance) had directed his two apprentices as they placed inlays on the stairs that meant anyone standing near the bottom of them could see the Senju Crest at eye level, a crest spread over the vertical facings of five steps. Below that was a small inscription with the words "Senju and honored guests only beyond this point", something that she hadn't noticed until after the workers had packed up.

Going up the stairs, Tsunade entered the rear wing (the ground-level door having been sealed off for privacy reasons) and made her way down to the kitchen where Kakashi was serving up a fish stew. A moment later, Shizune entered and sat down with a sigh.

"Ruto's taking another nap." She announced. "He's got one heck of an appetite."

"Any problems?" Tsunade asked and Shizune shook her head.

"No, I just hadn't realized how much time and effort babies need. A least if I ever have one of my own, I'll know what I'm letting myself in for… thanks, Kashi."

Kakashi eye-smiled at her as he placed a plate with a bread roll on it next to her bowl of soup, then he placed Tsunade's meal in front of her.

"This smells wonderful." Tsunade noted as Kakashi began eating as well, the food apparently going straight through his mask. "I think that we're almost ready to tell the village that we're open for more than just emergencies."

"When I was in town, I heard that Jiraiya was nearby." Kakashi pointed out, causing Tsunade to choke slightly.

"…what?"

"I didn't get his name, but the shopkeepers I spoke to described him perfectly." Kakashi supplied. "He asked some questions, mainly about you two, then headed off on a boat towards _Mizu no Kuni_."

"Why didn't he come here?" Shizune wondered.

"He probably did." Tsunade growled. "My bet would be that my old team-mate spied on us to see if we were indeed settling or preparing to run, then left without saying hello in order to avoid spooking us. I know that he's been keeping track of me using that spy network of his… our sudden relocation here must have really confused him. My using the clan accounts to pay of my debts may have had him thinking I was about to die or something and was setting things up to protect Shizune. I wish I'd been there to see his reaction to the discovery that I've become a mother."

"It would have been interesting to watch." Shizune agreed as she picked up her empty bowl and held it out for a refill. "I wonder what he wants in Water?"

" _Kirin Mitsu_?" Kakashi suggested, causing Tsunade to burst out laughing.

"Kashi…" Shizune sighed.

"No, I needed that." Tsunade took several deep breaths to check that she had finished laughing before tearing a chunk off the roll on her plate and dipping it into the stew.

.

* * *

.

The recently-paved road up to the mansion was crowded as the villagers made their way up, congregating on the driveway and lawn. On a temporary stage set up in front of the main entrance, Tsunade and Tazuna watched the crowd settling, then Tsunade gave the elderly architect a nod. Recognizing his cue, Tazuna stepped forwards and began speaking.

"My friends, for the last few months, we have enjoyed the advantages of having one of the greatest _Iryonin_ in the Elemental Nations living near us. Several of us here today are still able to work because of her skill and willingness to apply that skill to helping us to heal, to recover from accidents that could have led to those involved becoming unable to continue to work.  
"That alone would be enough to endear her to us forever, but Lady Tsunade set her heart on doing more and today, she has confirmed that she is ready to do just that! The first batch of medicines to help against the diseases that we fear has been brewed and is ready to be dispensed should they be required. Potions and tinctures to help maintain health and vitality are bottled and ready to be handed out and Lady Tsunade has made it clear that if anyone wishes to learn the basics of medicine, how to properly deal with injuries or to stabilise those who have been severely hurt to buy time for her to arrive, she will be happy to give those lessons free of charge!"

Tazuna paused as a veritable tidal wave of cheers and applause washed over them. After several minutes with no sign of the celebrations abating, Tsunade stepped forwards and Tazuna quickly dropped back. Raising her arms, Tsunade waited for the noise to die down.

"People of Wave… thank you." She smiled. "The welcome that you have shown has proven to me that this is indeed the best place that I could have chosen to settle and I can only hope that I and mine prove ourselves worthy of you and yours…"

Tsunade paused as the crowd's response broke over her, enhanced with phrases like _Of course you are_ , _what moron would think you weren't_ and _Why the hell wouldn't you be_? Again, she raised her hands and the noise abated.

"I have taken the liberty of preparing first-aid kits including bandages, potions, pills and salves, to be placed aboard the boats which help feed our village. It is my hope that these gifts will help our brave fishermen to brave the great ocean and return, hale and hearty, with catches aplenty to feed us with."

This time, it was the fishermen who led the cheering, although the rest of the villagers joined in almost at once. Tsunade waved her hand for quiet before finishing.

"To celebrate today, many of the womenfolk have given their skill and time to help prepare the feast we will now share. Please remember to thank them for their hard work in helping make this a day to remember!"

This time, Tsunade didn't try to rein in the celebrations.

.

"Whoah there!" Shizune shifted her grip as Naruto attempted to wriggle free in order to try and grab something.

"Need help?" Tsunami asked with a smile as she helped Shizune restrain the wriggling boy, holding him while Shizune adjusted her grip on him.

"Thanks." Shizune sighed as Naruto suddenly switched targets, trying to grab Tsunami's hair. "Sorry, he's rather excitable."

"So I see." The teenage girl giggled, wriggling a finger for the young blond to grab. "He's got a good grip."

"It sometimes makes it hard to put him down for a nap." Shizune agreed. "He's already trying to roll over whenever he's on the ground. Shisou thinks that Ruto's showing signs of being an early developer."

Naruto grumbled, then tried to wriggle against Shizune's chest, causing her to sigh. "I think he's hungry again."

"I'll grab a plate of snacks and a drink for you." Tsunami offered.

.

"Your men really helped." Kakashi said as he passed a cup of diluted apple juice to Tazuna.

"And we all agreed it was worth it, Kashi!" Tazuna laughed expansively, clapping Kakashi on his shoulder. "Especially when Teren's arm got badly broke when he slipped on the docks, normally something like that would have ended in amputation, but your mother and cousin, they took him in and jigsaw'd all the pieces back using that _ninj_ of theirs. Teren insists that he can't tell it was ever broken, he can't even predict weather with it!"

Kakashi chuckled at the comment.

"My back's feeling better than it has in years, too!" Tazuna continued with a grin. "You know, helping rebuild this place has really fired me up. What do you think I should do next? Expand the breakwater? Build a new highway somewhere?"

"Perhaps a bridge over the river." Kakashi suggested diffidently. "Should the dam start overflowing, it would be tricky to get to the sluice gate controls…"

"You may have a point there…" Tazuna mused. "I'll have to look at my old teacher's designs. An arched bridge would probably work best…"

.

* * *

.

"I'm going to have to brew more hangover potion." Tsunade noted as the last of the revelers vanished down the path to the town. "Where's Kashi?"

"He's in the woods, checking that they all get home safely." Shizune replied quietly. "Ruto's finally fallen asleep, so with your permission, I'll seek my own bed."

"Good idea." Tsunade nodded. "Get some rest while he lets you. I'll do the tidying up and Kashi'll help when he returns. Go, you're starting to get bags under your eyes."

"Goodnight, my lady." Shizune vanished into the mansion and Tsunade looked round at the scene before her. Despite the size of the impromptu celebration, there was surprisingly little to clean up as most of the food had been taken by the less well-off families (as was apparently expected in celebrations like this) and what was left on the tables were mainly empty bowls and crockery.

"Maybe I should get some stone tables installed." She mused as she collected a tray and began to pile bowls onto it. "It would save a lot of time moving stuff in and out for celebrations and so on."

"Good idea." Kakashi agreed, causing Tsunade to almost drop her tray.

"Dammit! Don't do that to me! …wait. Back up. _How_ did you do that to me? Sneaking up on me like that isn't easy, even when I'm distracted."

Kakashi gave her an eye-smile as he picked up another tray and started piling up plates on it.

.

* * *

.

Jiraiya frowned as he loomed over the suddenly-cowed mob. Sheltered by the shield of the giant toad that he was perched upon, an injured woman and her young child looked up at him with desperate hope.

"…Go home." Jiraiya finally commanded and the mob began to unravel, then he pointed at the apparent leader. "Not you. I have some… _questions_ for you and you _will_ answer them."

The man paled.

.

* * *

.

"Gaah! Dammit!"

Shizune sprang though the door as if propelled by a _futon_ jutsu, coming to a halt as she took in the sight before her.

Standing in the middle of the yard, Kakashi glared at the chickens around him, fingers twitching before he tried to grab one of them. The targeted bird managed to avoid his grasp, running off and Kakashi snarled in frustration as he sprawled in the dirt.

"I swear, these damned things _have_ to be summons!" He growled, pulling himself to his feet. " _No_ normal bird can escape me like that!"

Shizune shook her head and palmed a senbon needle, throwing it with a flick of her wrist. The needle sliced through the air and one of the chickens collapsed. Kakashi shot her a betrayed look, then picked up the chicken with a sigh.

"Give it here." Shizune smirked. "I still remember the last meal you tried to cook. You may be good at campfire foods, but anything more complicated…"

Kakashi nodded and handed over the chicken with a mental sigh of relief. He still didn't know how he'd managed to turn the last piece of meat he'd tried to prepare fluorescent green and purple, but the end result was that he'd been unofficially banned from making anything more complex than onigiri or simple stews.

At least Shizune was skilled in the kitchen, as was Tsunade, and he _was_ learning, albeit rather less quickly than he would have liked.

"When is Tsunade due back?"

"In a couple of hours." Shizune said, glancing up at the sky. "I should have the food prepared by then. How are you doing with listing your techniques?"

"Over seven hundred and fifty of them written down with full descriptions and hand-signs." Kakashi said with a slight shrug. "I hadn't actually realized that I had copied so many, to be honest."

Shizune nodded, then re-entered the house with Kakashi following her.

"Kashi, we may have a mission soon. We're running low on certain herbs and need more from the Land of Water, but they're having a civil war, so…"

"You need me to get in, get the herbs and bring them out without getting caught." Kakashi nodded, then his eye narrowed into the upturned U of his smile. "No problems, although I'll have to place an order for more kunai. Mine are getting rather worn. Anything else while I'm there?"

"There will be a couple of people you'll need to visit to get some medical scrolls that Tsunade wants." Shizune said as she started to pluck the chicken, dropping the feathers into a small bin placed by the kitchen table for just that purpose.

"Understood." Kakashi nodded. "So, where's the list and when should I set off?"

"Still being written and not for a couple of weeks."

.

"Princess!"

Tsunade slammed to a halt as the familiar voice reached her, then she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Oh no. No, no, no. No, please, no…"

"Good to see you, Princess." Jiraiya chuckled as he came to a stop beside her.

"Lady Tsunade… who is this?" The stall-owner asked and Tsunade sighed.

"This is Jiraiya, my old team-mate. Jiraiya, _what_ are you… no, hold on. Let me finish this first."

Jiraiya watched with a slight smile as Tsunade handed over some ryo and accepted a large packet of rice which she put into her bag.

"Thank you… and remember to bring Tsukari up tomorrow so I can remove the cast."

"Of course, Lady Tsunade. Thank you."

"I see you're making a good living for yourself." Jiraiya noted as Tsunade slung her bag over her shoulder. "However, we need to talk. Is there a place nearby or…"

"This way." Tunade began walking towards the tea shop which had recently opened, noting curiously as Jiraiya motioned to someone before catching up with her. "Is it Sensei?"

"He's still alright." Jiraiya replied with a slight smile. "We had a stroke of… I don't know whether you'd call it _good_ or _bad_ luck. You remember Danzo?"

"The War-Hawk?" Tsunade asked as she led the way into the tea-house. "Good morning, Baachan, could we have a table for…"

"Four." Jiraiya interjected and Tsunade gave him a long look.

"…a table for four, if it isn't too much trouble?"

"For you, _nothing_ is too much trouble." The elderly woman replied, her smile turning her face into a mass of good-natured creases. "Here we go."

"My treat." Jiraiya added.

"I'll start brewing your tea."

Tsunade sat down, her back to the wall, and Jiraya sat next to her, then waved for the duo who had just entered to join them. Tsunade watched as they approached, seeing a tired-looking yet somehow hopeful woman and a child that looked almost exactly like her, obviously her offspring.

"Sit, sit." Jiraiya rose to help the woman sit down as the child scrambled into the fourth chair, then Jiraiya dropped back onto his own seat.

"So, time for some background. For the last month and a bit, I've been in _Mizu no Kuni_ , checking out the ongoing civil war that's going on. I don't know if you've heard, but they're trying to kill all those with a _Kekkei Genkai_ , no matter what it is."

Tsunade winced, then looked up as the owner appeared, a tray in her hands holding a teapot and four cups. "Your favorite blend, my dear. Would you like some snacks to go with it?"

"That would be very nice, thank you. Do you have any _onigiri_?"

"Be right back!" The woman bustled off and Tsunade lifted the teapot, filling the cups. Jiraiya accepted one and inhaled.

"The _Sunrise Ascendant_ blend, if I'm not mistaken."

"You aren't." Tsunade admitted, then looked at the other two. "Jiraiya…?"

"Ah, yes. Of course." Jiraiya put his cup down and nodded at the duo. "This lovely lady is Yuki Haruko and her son, Yuki Haku. I rescued them from a mob a couple of weeks ago and they helped me stay undercover, but now… I have other tasks I need to do, but I can't simply abandon them. Not after what they did for me…"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "You want _me_ to take them in?"

"Who better?" Jiraiya shrugged. "You can hold your own against even me, there are very few on our level and as far as I know, none of them even suspect that Haruko-san has been helping me. I'd like to keep it that way and if I set them up with an income stream, it may leak."

"To the very few at our level." Tsunade nodded in understanding. "I see…"

Tsunade frowned slightly as she looked at the woman before her. After a long moment, she gave a slight nod. "Alright, but I'll need a few answers first. How good are you with children?"

"I… I enjoy looking after them. Back before we had to leave, I often looked after the children so the other parents could do what needed to be done."

"Do you know much about medicine? And are you willing to learn?"

"I… only know a bit… and yes."

"And what is your bloodlimit?"

Haruko gasped.

"Why else would you have had to flee from the Land of Water?" Tsunade pointed out logically. "What can you do?"

"She's a _Hyoton_ user." Jiraiya supplied. "Basic level only, no training, but she can cool things down as needed."

"That would be _very_ useful." Tsunade smiled. "Alright, if you want a place to stay you've got one, but Jiraiya…"

"…yes?"

"Haruko and her son are _out_ of the spying business." Tsunade commanded.

"Agreed."

Tsunade blinked. That had been a lot less of an argument than she had been expecting.

"So." She refocused the conversation. "You were saying something about Danzo? What has the old War Hawk done now?"

"He's dead."

Tsunade blinked. "What?"

"He's dead." Jiraiya repeated. "Struck down from behind by an unknown shinobi. No sign that he had detected any threat, then…"

"He didn't fake it?" Tsunade asked, remembering Kakashi's description of the dead child that Danzo had intended to use to fake her adopted son's demise.

"No. His nephew pulled out the Shimura Clan's Summoning Contract at the Hokage's request. Danzo's name was faded. He's not faking, he's dead and that left us with one hell of a problem. His Foundation."

"Foundation?"

"Root, Ne, Foundation… his black-ops ANBU equivalent. He was sending them out on missions he thought would leave Konoha in a stronger position… bastard even teamed up briefly with the Salamander!"

"The three orphans that you…" Tsunade started and Jiraya nodded with a scowl.

"Yeah, Danzo helped set up their deaths. If he wasn't already dead, I'd have killed him myself."

"I'd have helped." Tsunade agreed, earning a curious look. "What? I saw how you were while you were teaching those three. You always enjoyed teaching, even more than actually perving, back then."

"What's _perving_?" Haku asked.

"Something you shouldn't learn about until you've come of age." Jiraiya stated before either of the other two adults could respond.

"So, how's Sensei taking Danzo's death?" Tsunade rerouted the conversation back to its previous path.

"He's said that he's tempted to look up a resurrection jutsu so he can kill him again." Jiraiya chuckled briefly with dark amusement. "The shinobi Danzo had trained? Pretty much useless for anything other than assassination and sabotage missions. Virtually the entire Yamanaka clan has been hired to try and rehabilitate them."

Tsunade winced. "What the heck did he do to them?"

"You probably don't want to know."

A long silence descended on the table, then the owner reappeared, a tray in her hands.

"Here you go, onigiri for all of you."

.

"Welcome to the Senju Hospital." Tsunade waved one hand at the semi-converted mansion that was coming into view and the duo with her looked at what was going to be their new home. ""As Jiraiya may have mentioned, I live here with my adoptive-niece Shizune, although my sons Kashi and Ruto live here too. Kashi's almost fourteen while Ruto's still less than half a year old."

"I'll be happy to help look after him." Haruko smiled as they made their way up to the front door, shifting the bag of newly-purchased clothing slightly.

"I'll be counting on it." Tsunade admitted. "There's a proper local school being set up so when Haku's a bit older, he can learn things like reading, writing and mathematics there."

"That would be wonderful." Haruko's smile grew rueful. "I was never very good with numbers."

"Kaa-san." Kakashi said in greeting from the doorway, a squirming blond bundle in his arms. "New patients?"

"They're joining us, Kashi." Tsunade replied as Haruko half-crouched for a better view of Naruto, her eyes crinkling with joy.

"This must be Ruto… he's a real cutie!"

Naruto stared at the new arrivals with wide, curious eyes.

"Kashi, we need to talk later. My study, after tea."

"Yes, Kaa-san."

"And can you call Shizune? I need to get back to my paperwork and Haruko needs a tour of the mansion."

"Yes, Kaa-san."

.

"…and this is the playroom." Shizune said as she slid the door open. "It opens onto the garden and is generally where Ruto spends the day when he's not charging around the mansion like a blond hurricane."

Haruko giggled at the description as she followed Shizune into the toy-strewn room, then she stared at the sight before them. Kakashi gaze a lazy wave from the comfortable chair by the large window where he was sat reading a scroll while in the corner, Haku and Naruto were curled up together in a happy jumble of arms and legs on a futon.

"Haku was yawning and it set Naruto off," Kakashi explained quietly, "So I suggested that they had a little nap. Once they'd settled down, they dropped right off."

Shizune returned her camera to her pocket with a smile as she looked at the young sleeping boys.

"If I had any doubts, they're gone now." Haruko whispered. "I haven't seen Haku-kun look this happy in months."

"Looks like they're best friends already." Shizune whispered back.

"He'll be overjoyed to learn we're staying." Haruko replied. "So, what needs doing?"

"Well," Kakashi said, standing up and rolling the scroll up, "If you could take over watching them, I probably need to go down to the village. I noticed that we probably need more fish for tonight's tea and I wanted to see if anything new has arrived in the bookstore. I also need to visit the Blacksmith's as well…"

"Of course." Haruko smiled, moving to the vacated seat and settling into it, her eyes carefully watching the two children for any sign of anything being wrong.

.

* * *

.

The castle wall erupted outwards, a green-clad Shinobi following almost instantly and using the descending blocks as stepping stones as the screaming girl in his arms clung tightly to him. Behind them, alarm bells started to ring, but the black-haired ninja paid it no heed, concentrating instead on reaching the ground without causing any injuries to the girl in his arms.

The first part of his mission had been a success, now all he needed to do was convey her to Konoha where the Hokage would be able to decide what should happen next.


	4. Adventures

"Welcome, welcome."

Kakashi smiled under his mask as he entered the shop to the shopkeeper's greeting.

"Good morning, Inaku-san." He said politely. "Is my order prepared?"

"Kunai from Konoha, Shuriken from Kumo and the other supplies you requested." Inaku pulled a large box out from under his counter and placed it on top, opening the lid so that Kakashi could take a look.

"It all looks perfect." Kakashi eye-smiled. "Out of interest, how is Komara doing? Has he fully recovered from his fall from that tree?"

"Almost healed and a little bundle of energy." Inaku's grin widened. "Tsunade-sama said another day or so before on bed-rest to ensure his ankle's recovered, then he'll probably be jumping between the branches again."

"Good to hear." Kakashi said with a slight bow as he picked up the box.

"Kashi..?"

"Yes?"

"How come you're not a medic like Tsunade and Shizune? You have skills…"

Kakashi blinked a couple of times, then he smiled. "Not all of us Senju are full medics. I deal with the other things, gardening, repairs, paperwork, finances, supplies… all the things that don't involve blood and bones. I have the skills of an emergency medic, but that's mainly keeping people alive until the experts can arrive."

"And young Ruto?"

Kakashi laughed. "He's barely able to roll over, let alone perform operations. As he grows, we'll train him in the ways of the medics and the ninja. What he chooses to do is completely up to him, though. And whatever my little brother chooses, I'll support him as best as I can."

"Will he wear a mask, like you?"

Kakashi almost blinked in surprise. Tsunade had been trying to formulate a type of makeup that would cover Naruto's whisker-markings without looking artificial, but the idea that Inaku had just innocently suggested…

"It _is_ a Senju family tradition." he lied smoothly. "Once a boy is able to walk, he is given his first mask and he takes it off only for his family and closest friends… or if he becomes Clan Head and needs to deal with outsiders. Shows trust, you see."

"You medics have the strangest customs." Inaka laughed. "But it doesn't matter to us. Have a good day now."

"Thank you." Kakashi said as he left the store. He really would have to remember to tell Tsunade about the new 'ancient Senju tradition' before heading off. If he did it right, maybe she wouldn't increase his ninja training.

Well, hopefully not by too much. His chakra reserves were, after all, growing nicely due to her training. And his newly-learned ability to punch through boulders like Tsunade was nice. Another thing to teach his little brother when he got old enough.

.

"Catch him!"

Kakashi blinked as a giggling high-speed blond blur scrambled down the corridor towards him at a speed that would make many genin jealous, followed by Haruko and Tsunade who were both trying (and failing) to catch him and succeeding only in getting in each others way, only Tsunade's ninja reflexes stopping them from measuring their lengths along the ground. Carefully placing the box down at the side of the hall, Kakashi moved into the path of his four-month-old adoptive brother as he tried to get past and scooped him up, balancing the giggling boy on his hip as Tsunade and Haruko finally caught up.

"Thanks." Haruko panted as Naruto giggled. "If he can move that fast _now_ , what will he be like when he actually walks?"

Kakashi nodded, mentally replaying the last few minutes in his head.

"Amazing how he moves… almost like a dog. Maybe he'll slow down a bit when he has to worry more about balancing… or not…"

Tsunade sighed and closed her eyes, releasing Kakashi from her glare. "Little gaki's getting _way_ too mobile."

"I'll get him back to the playroom." Haruko laughed as she almost skipped back down the hallway, both Shinobi watching her as she held the laughing infant.

"I still haven't come up with a way to hide his whiskers, he keeps smearing the makeup off." Tsunade noted quietly.

"Ah…" Kakashi said slowly, catching her attention. "I came up with an idea about that, based on something that one of the shopkeepers said. An old Senju tradition that I came up with less than an hour ago."

Tsunade raised a brow. "I'm listening."

.

.

Shizune sighed as Kakashi vanished into the treetops, then she blushed as Tsunade chuckled from behind her.

"Missing him already?"

"I… I… no…" Even to herself, Shizune's denial sounded weak.

"He's one of the best Shinobi I've encountered." Tsunade stated as she moved up to stand next to Shizune. "Especially now that I've fixed his _Sharingan_ so he can deactivate it.

Shizune blinked. "You have?"

"He still prefers to keep his eye closed when he isn't using it, but now he actually has to choose to activate it rather than risking being drained because he's forgotten to close it." Tsunade explained. "It means that he doesn't need to wear an eye-patch any more."

" _That_ was what was different about him!" Shizune realized.

For a long moment, the two women stood watching the place where Kakashi had vanished, then Tsunade sighed.

"Well, time to get back to work."

"Yes, my lady."

As they walked back into the building, Tsunade spoke again. "Shizune, I know you've been talking to Tsunami, has she mentioned anything about the traders?"

"My lady?"

"Several of my usual suppliers have indicated that they may be about to hand their routes over to someone else and I don't think that they were doing so willingly. If someone's trying to take over all the trade routes…"

"They could isolate Wave and seize it themselves." Shizune agreed. "Next time I see Tsunami and Tazuna, I'll raise the prospect with them."

Tsunami nodded in approval. "Good. Having to hire teams from Konoha to help overthrow a tyrant could be… expensive."

"Yes, my lady."

.

.

"Urgh, what a day." Tsunade moaned as she accepted the cup being pressed into her hands. Taking a sip, she froze, her eyes wide, then she stared at the green liquid.

"Wow! This is… wow."

"Thank you." Haruko said as she passed a second cup to Shizune who sipped it appreciatively. "I made some food as well, I've already fed the children and they've fallen asleep in another of their cuddlepiles."

Tsunade shook her head with a grin. "You know, hiring you was probably one of the best decisions I ever made."

Haruko blushed slightly, then quickly vanished from the room, reappearing with a tray of food that she placed on the desk in front of Tsunade.

"Eat up, you need to keep your strength up."

Tsunade smiled as she picked up the chopsticks and selected the first bit of sushi. Lifting it to her mouth, she bit into it, then closed her eyes in bliss.

"Mmmmmmmm, this is amazing."

"Thank you." Haruko smiled. "Your son and mine helped me to make it. And they helped to clean up afterwards."

Tsunade paused for several seconds as she tired to imagine Naruto helping despite still being unable to walk, then shrugged slightly and helped herself to another serving.

"So, are you enjoying it here? If not…"

"It's wonderful." Haruko interrupted, a soft smile on her face. "A chance to raise my son without worrying about his bloodlimits putting him in danger? Being encouraged to learn to use my own abilities as well? Looking after other children? It's almost like paradise."

Tsunade and Shizune exchanged glances, then Tsunade grinned.

"Be careful what you say, I might ask you to start up a daycare center. You'd have to deal with _dozens_ of hyperactive brats."

Haruko smiled beatifically at the thought, causing Tsunade to sigh and Shizune to look thoughtful.

.

.

Tsunade paused by the door to the playroom and looked at the laughing boys. Haku was slowly shuffling forwards, Naruto holding onto and supported by his hands, wobbling as he took one wobbly step after another, his face beaming with triumph.

A click beside her caused her to turn just in time to see Shizune stowing her camera.

"Adding that to the album?" She whispered and Shizune nodded with a smug smile.

"Of course. Ruto's first steps. How could I not?"

A piercing shriek of laughter interrupted them as Naruto finally overbalanced, despite Haku's support, and plopped down onto his bum, looking up at the older boy who was smiling back down at him.

"I think my teeth are developing cavities." Tsunade joked quietly.

"Excuse me, please."

Shizune and Tsunade quickly vacated the doorway to allow Haruko through. The woman carefully placed the tray containing a pitcher of diluted fruit juice and several wooden cups on the side table before holding her hand over the pitcher and concentrating.

"You're getting very good at that." Tsunade noted as the sides of the pitcher were suddenly covered with beads of condensation.

"Practice." Haruko smiled as she poured the chilled drink into two of the cups, giving one to Haku and kneeling down to help Naruto sip from the second one. "If you want some, help yourselves."

Tsunade scooped up one of the other cups and filled it. As she sipped at the refreshing beverage, Shizune followed suit.

"Nice." Tsunade looked at the cup in her hand, then used her other hand to perform a scanning technique on it. "Fresh… _full_ of good vitamins and minerals… I'm impressed. How did you come up with it?"

"I took the liberty of looking at some of the basic medical scrolls on diet and nutrition." Haruko offered and Tsunade nodded approvingly.

"Make sure you write down the recipe for this." Tsunade noted before taking another sip. "And if you feel the need to experiment further, I approve in advance."

"Thank you, my lady."

Tsunade gave Shizune a mild glare.

"…what?"

.

.

"…alright, Kashi." Tsunade sighed, "What did you do?"

"Ummm, I got your scrolls and herbs?" Kakashi offered sheepishly, proffering a sealing scroll which Tsunade accepted. "I also… kind of escorted some refugees to the village. They'll need some medical exams soon, some of them have odd Kekkei Genkais. That's why they asked me to help them."

"You escorted refugees from the Land of Water… just how many refugees are you talking about?"

"Meh, about a hundred or so." Kakashi shrugged. "Mainly women and children, but there were some ninja amongst them. They helped me guard them, you know."

Tsunade face-palmed, then looked at the small boy nervously peeking out from behind Kakashi's legs. The boy was a Kaguya, identifiable by the two red spots on his forehead.

"And the boy is?"

Kakashi glanced back as if he'd forgotten about them. "Oh, right! This is Kaguya Kimimaro, his clan had imprisoned him because he was showing the strongest Kekkei Genkai they had seen and they wanted to turn him into a weapon, so I sort of liberated him along with some of his clan's scrolls and brought him with me.." Kakashi trailed off and rubbed the back of his head while Tsunade facepalmed.

"Only you, Kashi, only you…" She sighed, then she shrugged and stepped back, waving for them to enter. "Well, come in and welcome."

The nervous boy stayed by Kakashi's side until the taller ninja gently nudged him forwards.

"So, where's… whoah! Gotcha!"

Kakashi grabbed the speeding Naruto up off the floor and knelt down to balance him on his knee as Kimimaro looked at him with curiosity.

"Got away from Haruko again, did you? Kimimaro, this is Ruto. He's now your new little brother, alright?"

Kimimaro cocked his head in thought, then carefully reached out, smiling as Naruto promptly latched onto his finger.

"Hello… otouto…"

Haku trotted up to them and Naruto promptly reached out with his other hand. Haku giggled as his finger was captured as well.

"Well, I guess that Ruto just got himself another playmate." Kakashi half-joked and Tsunade sighed.

"Okay, Kashi, take Kimimaro, Ruto and Haku to Shizune while I talk to Haruko about this."

"Of course." Kakashi smiled as he stood up. "Come on, let's go to the kitchen and grab some food. I know that you're hungry after all that walking and then we'll get your hair sorted and a Senju mask, shall we, little bro? After than, we can officially introduce you to everyone."

Kimimaro smiled up at Kakashi.

.

* * *

.

"Tent's up!" Kimimaro called as he put the hammer down and gave the guy line a small tug to ensure that it was secure. Rising to his feet, the seven-year-old nodded in satisfaction. "Ruto, how's the firewood coming?"

"Getting loads!" Naruto called as the three-year-old boy wobbled his way into the clearing, arms filled with sticks and small branches. "Gonna be good fire!"

Kimimaru quickly scooped enough sticks from his younger brother's arms to let him actually see where he was going, earning an eye-smile from him. Together, they piled up the collected firewood, then using the lessons that their older brother had given them, Kimimaru used a kunai and a piece of flint to ignite the dried leaves placed between the sticks. A few moments later, small flames began to curl their way through the conical arrangement.

"I wonder where big brother's gone?" Kimimaru mused.

.

"What is a _Kumo_ shinobi doing in the Land of Waves? And why do you have a tied-up young Hyuuga girl?"

.

"Food?" Naruto prompted and Kimimaru laughed as he used several straight sticks to create a frame over the fire to hang a small cooking pot on.

"Can you get the rice and water?"

Naruto brightened up and scrambled for the backpack containing their supplies. Half-diving into it, he emerged a moment later with a canteen and a small packet.

"Those are _noodles_ , Ruto." Kimimaro sighed. "Lunch is _rice_."

"Noodles?" Naruto waved the packet and Kimimaro sighed.

"Noodles _tonight_ , Ruto. Rice _now_."

"Noodles…" Naruto mourned as he stared sadly at the packet.

"Rice."

.

"Head down the stream!"

"You dare interfere with a Jonin from Kumo? I'll show you the error of your… your eye… is that a _sharingan_?"

"And it is the last thing that you will _ever_ see."

.

"Rice." Naruto sighed as he handed the packet in question to Kimimaro, who extended a small bone blade from his finger to cut it open with before pouring it into the steaming water.

"There we go, in a few minutes, we'll… what is it?"

Naruto half-crouched by the stream passing along the edge of the clearing, every line of his body showing concentration as he sniffed.

"Ruto?"

"…girl, crying, coming." Naruto announced quietly, then his gaze fastened on a tall clump of grass. A moment later, it parted and a soaking-wet dark-haired figure fell through, landing in Naruto's arms. Kimimaro blinked several times, then made a decision.

"I'll heat up some water for a cup of tea. Ruto, get her to by the fire so she can dry off, then get a towel."

.

Kakashi looked down at the patch of disturbed earth that held the corpse of the shinobi that had attacked him, then moved to where he had piled the weapons and other items he had looted from the corpse. Pulling out a small scroll, he sealed away the items, then closed his left eye with a sigh of relief.

"Three new techniques to write down when I get home." He muttered to himself as he pocketed the scroll before looking round. "Good, she obeyed my order, so by now, she should be at the camp. I'll have to make sure, though…"

Carefully examining the stream-bank, Kakashi made his way downstream.

.

The girl sipped gratefully at the cup of tea that Kimimaro had given her, showing incredible poise for her young age. Beside her, Naruto sat with his arm across her shoulder in a protective fashion.

"Excellent." Kakashi said from the edge of the clearing. "I see that our guest arrived. Don't worry, the bad man who kidnapped you won't be able to do it again. I… _dealt_ with him."

"…thank you." The girl managed and Kakashi knelt down on the other side of the small campfire in an attempt to avoid scaring her.

"So, let me introduce ourselves. My name is Senju Kashi and you have already met my two brothers, Senju Kimimaro and Senju Ruto. You may have heard of our mother, Senju Tsunade."

The girl perked up slightly. "Senju Tsunade? Daddy says she best medo.. meda… _medical_ ninja ever!"

"She is very accomplished." Kakashi agreed as Kimimaru handed him a cup of tea as well. "So, may we know the name of the girl we've rescued?"

"Hyuuga Hinata." The girl said shyly. "Tou-san is Hyuuga Hiashi…"

"…the clan-head of the Hyuuga clan!" Kakashi finished. "I've heard of him. He's _very_ important."

"Daddy is Hokage's adviser." Hinata said proudly. "He helps run the village."

"Who's the other _helper_?" Kakashi asked curiously and Hinata frowned.

"Uchiha Fu… fu…"

"Uchiha Fugaku." Kakashi rocked back on his heels. "The Hokage has the clan-heads of the Uchiha and the Hyuuga as his advisers… talk about welding the clans closer to Konoha."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion, but Kimimaro nodded in understanding, having learned the basics about Konoha from his older brother and Shizune.

"Boys, I'll need to run back home to tell Kaa-san about this." Kakashi sighed. "You should be safe until I get back, but 'maru, you have permission to use _all_ your skills if anything happens."

"Yes, nii-san." Kimimaru nodded.

"Give my share of the food to our guest." Kakashi added. "I'll pick up a ration from home and I expect to be back soon, probably with company… and maybe an extra tent."

"Yes, nii-san."

.

Tsunade looked up in confusion as Kakashi appeared in the doorway to her office.

"Did you call off the camping trip?"

"We got an unexpected guest." Kakashi ran his hand through his hair. "Hyuuga Hinata, daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi. Apparently she was kidnapped. I took care of the kidnapper, but…"

Tsunade found herself standing without any memory of having moved. "SHIZUNE!"

A sudden thunder of footsteps announced Shizune's arrival and she screeched to a stop as she saw Kakashi.

"What happened to your camping trip?"

"We had an unexpected visitor…"

.

"…so as we might get sick too if we stayed, we came camping." Kimimaro finished as Hinata (fully dried and clad in some of Naruto's spare clothes) listened while eating her rice and vegetables. "Hopefully Haku can come with us next time we have a camping trip."

"Haku's cool." Naruto interjected, then he started giggling while Kimimaro rolled his eyes and Hinata gave him a look of confusion.

"That was a bad joke, Ruto." Kimimaro sighed. and Naruto stuck his tongue out at him before putting down his empty bowl and pulling up his mask.

"Ano… why are you wearing masks?" Hinata asked meekly.

"Family tradition." Kimimaro said as he pulled his own mask up. "As we get older, we'll learn the secret Senju genjutsu to make it look like our masks are always up, even when they're not."

Naruto nodded eagerly.

.

"Kashi, grab a two-person tent and some extra food. Shizune, you'll do a check-up of the Hyuuga girl and unless she needs actual medical attention, spend the night at the campsite. Haku's fever has just broken and although I don't think he's contagious any more, it's best not to take chances."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" Kakashi saluted, then seemed to vanish in a blur.

"Yes, my lady!" Shizune bowed briefly before she scurried off.

"What's going on?" Haruko asked from the sickbay door.

.

"Hello the camp!" A familiar voice called and both boys perked up.

"Hello nii-san!" Kimimaro called back. "All clear and getting ready to cook the noodles for an early supper."

"Noodles!" Naruto agreed happily, causing Hinata to giggle.

"Well, I brought another packet plus some seafood to add to it." Kakashi laughed as he dropped down from the tree. "Hinata-san, I'd like to introduce Shizune, she's an _Iryonin_ and Senju Tsunade's niece."

"Hello!" Shizune smiled as she stepped round Kakashi. "I know you've had a rough few days, so I'm here to check that you're still healthy and help keep you safe. Boys, if you could put up our tent?"

Kimimaru caught the bundle that Kakashi had lazily lobbed to him. "Of course. Ruto, can you help?"

"Okay!"

"Now, Hinata, was it? I need to do a couple of diagnostic jutsu. I promise it won't hurt…"

.

Tsunade gently blew on the letter she had written to dry it off, then re-read it to check that she had covered everything.

* * *

_To Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen  
_ _From Senju Tsunade_

_Sensei._

_I am pleased to report that Hinata Hyuuga, the daughter of Hiashi Hyuuga, is safe and at my home here in_ Mizu no Kuni _.  
In addition, the unidentified Kumo Shinobi who had kidnapped her is deceased and his body buried.  
You will find his belongings in the storage scroll sent along with this letter.  
_ _Please send a team to help me escort Hyuuga Hinata back to Konoha.  
The inclusion of her father, mother or uncle would be appreciated and would help to reassure her, thus enhancing her recovery from the trauma she has undergone._

_Yours faithfully,_

_Senju Tsunade (Sannin)_

* * *

With a firm nod, Tsunade took the storage scroll that Kakashi had given her and rolled the letter around it, then used a small _katon_ jutsu to melt the top of the candle on her desk. After using a ribbon to bind the letter closed, she applied a dollop of wax onto the knot, then pulled out her long-unused signet-ring and applied it to the wax, leaving the kanji for _wood_ embossed on it.

Rising from her desk, she walked to the sickbay where Haruko was spoon-feeding soup to her son.

"I'm just heading down to the village to hire a post-nin." Tsunade waved the scroll. "You're in charge until I get back."

Haruko looked around, then returned her gaze back to Tsunade with a raised eyebrow.

"In charge of _whom_?"

Tsunade chuckled. "You know what I mean."

.

"While I think the second tent is a good idea, I think our original plan for who should sleep where has just been upended." Shizune sighed in amused annoyance as she peeped into the newly-erected small tent where Naruto and Hinata were fast asleep, lying in a pile of tangled limbs in a way that only the fully-fed young can achieve.

"Rock-parchment-kunai?" Kakashi suggested and Shizune swatted him.

"There's not quite enough room for me as well in there and the other tent isn't quite big enough for all three of us to sleep comfortably…"

"I will share the tent with my little brother." Kimimaro stated. "That will allow you both to rest in the other tent with room to spare."

Kakashi and Shizune blushed slightly.

.

* * *

.

"Haku!"

Haku looked round as Naruto almost burst into the room in a whirlwind of excitement.

"Kaa-san said we could see you and you won't believe it! We went camping and Kashi rescued a _princess_!"

Haku's eyebrows rose. "A… princess?"

"Sure! She's right… hang on."

Naruto dashed back through the door, then re-appeared dragging a dark-haired girl who looked to be the same age as him and who was blushing.

"Haku, this is Hyuuga Hinata, she's a _princess_ of the Hyuuga clan!" Naruto declaimed proudly. "'nata-san, this is Yuki Haku! He's _awesome_! He can make drinks cold just like his mother does!"

"…pleased to meet you." Hinata managed while behind them, Kimimaro stood with his usual deadpan expression but laughter dancing in his eyes.

.

* * *

.

"Recall the searchers." Hiruzen commanded as he put down the scroll that the Post-nin had delivered. Fugaku's eyes narrowed as Hiashi's eyebrows twitched in a sign of his rapidly-building fury. "Your daughter is safe and with Senju Tsunade in Wave."

Hiashi almost seemed to collapse bonelessly into his chair. "…really?"

"Really." Hiruzen confirmed. "She killed the kidnapper, a Kumo Shinobi according to her description, and now Hinata is with her, waiting for you to collect her."

"Why would he have gone through Wave?" Fugaku wondered. "It's nowhere near the normal routes to Kumo… which is _why_ he would have done it. Get a ship, circle the Land of Water and he'd be able to get back to Kumogakure without being intercepted."

"Quite." Hiruzen agreed. "It was a very cunning plan and one which would have succeeded…"

"If not for the Slug Sannin." Hiashi finished, closing his eyes in relief."I would ask for a leave of absence to lead a team to retrieve my daughter…"

"Since it seems that Tsunade plans to escort her back, I would suggest taking a few elite Jonin with you." Hiruzen suggested.

"I know that you do not approve of my clan, as I do not of yours, but I would offer the services of my son, Itachi. I will pay for him to aid with the escort."

"Itachi is one of the few Uchiha whom even my clan approve of." Hiashi half-joked. "Accepted… with gratitude."


	5. Meetings

"Shizune?"

The woman in question paused, then looked round even as she pocketed the packet that she had been purchasing.

"Yes? How can I… _Hiashi_ -sama?"

"It is good to see you again, Shizune-san." Hiashi greeted the surprised Kunoichi. "I must ask, how is my daughter?"

"She's doing fine." Shizune motioned for Hiashi to walk with her and the Clan-head nodded even as his fingers moved in ANBU sign-language, commanding the team with him to relax and send one observer to follow him. "She's recovering nicely. Tsunade's youngest son Ruto helps, the two of them often play until they get tired, then fall asleep in a pile of limbs. It's really cute."

Hiashi glanced down at Shizune. "Do you have pictures?"

Shizune almost stumbled, but managed not to fall. "Errrr… yes?"

"Then if you would be so kind, I would like some to take back with me to help reassure my wife."

"Of course." Shizune managed. "Will you be staying overnight?"

"It would be appreciated." Hiashi noted. "If you have enough space, I am sure that those who came with me would appreciate a chance to sleep underneath a roof."

"Of course." Shizune agreed. "We do have some spare rooms, or I believe that the local hotel has several rooms available. It also has an attached restaurant and an onsen heated by a set of metallic seal-tags that Jiraiya-sama donated in exchange for Konoha shinobi getting a discount."

"Useful." Hiashi noted, his fingers flickering in a message that Shizune failed to catch.

.

"Haruko, where is Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked as she stepped into the hall. Behind the counter, Haruko finished handing over the small vial and sheaf of instructions to the grateful old man before answering.

"She's currently in the hospital wing dealing with a nasty case of bees."

"Allergy?" Shizune winced.

"Allergy." Haruko nodded, then she looked at Hiashi. "Interesting… are you related to Hinata-chan?"

"I am her father." Hiashi supplied.

"Yuki Haruko, be known to Hyuuga Hiashi. Hiashi, this is Haruko, a civilian medical trainee." Shizune guided Hiashi past the counter as she spoke. "Is Kashi looking after the young ones?"

"He's showing them the tree-house that Tazuna and his men finished building for them yesterday." Haruko smiled. "Haku was asking if they could sleep out there tonight."

"Hinata has never spent the night in a tree-house before." Hiashi mused. "Maybe I should have one built… assuming that she enjoys this one."

Shizune managed not to laugh, but a slight eyebrow-twitch from Hiashi indicated that he had caught her reaction. Blushing slightly, Shizune tapped on the door-frame to the sickbay.

"Come in!" Tsunade called and Shizune slid the door open to reveal Tsunade lifting her hands off a young boy who was trying to fend off his worried mother.

"Now, keep away from that beehive." Tsunade told the boy. "And if you or your friends accidentally hit it with a ball, _don't_ try to get it back until after the bees have calmed down. Understand?"

"He does, my lady." The mother replied as the boy nodded with the bouncy motion that only children can achieve.

"Good." Tsunade stepped back with a triumphant smile. "See Haruko on your way out, it looks like I have a visitor."

"He looks like he's related that cute girl who's almost glued herself to your son."

Hiashi's eyebrows would have hit his hairline had he been any less self-controlled.

"He should do, he's her father." Tsunade ruffled the boy's head and patted the mother reassuringly on her shoulder before walking over to where Hiashi and Shizune were waiting.

"Hello, Hiashi. Your daughter's out the back. Do you want to see her?"

"That would be appreciated, Tsunade-sama."

.

Hinata's squeal of joy echoed as she slid down the pole, Naruto catching her at the bottom. Laughing, both children scampered up the spiral stair winding round the trunk of the tree, vanishing into the tree-house, only to reappear once again with more cries of enjoyment. To one side, two older children watched, close enough that they could move to help if anything went wrong.

"Children!" Tsunade called, a gentle smile on her face and the quartet turned to face her. Before she could continue, Hinata dashed forwards.

"Tou-san!"

"Hello, Hinata." Hiashi dropped to one knee and pulled his daughter into a tight hug. "When I heard that you were safe with Tsunade-sama, it seemed as if color had returned to my world. I am so glad that you are alright."

For a long moment, no-one moved, then Hinata squirmed in her father's arms, pushing away enough to look up at him.

"You're… crying? Why are you sad?"

"I'm not." Hiashi smiled as he pulled her back into a hug, kissing the top of her head. "I'm not sad at all…"

.

"This is quite a tree-house." Hiashi said solemnly as he stood on the stairs so that his head and shoulders rose through the trapdoor. The ring-shaped structure was supported on a trio of deeply-embedded pillars that had vines wrapped around them, vines which also partially sheltered the upper half of the staircase. To the right of where Hiashi was, a doorway led to the metal pole that the children had been enthusiastically sliding down earlier while on the other side of the large central tree-trunk, hidden from normal eyesight, were three double-bunks with mattresses and privacy curtains.

Hiashi reflected that the amount of work that must have gone into making the tree-house was quite incredible. He had not understood how the tap above the small sink was supplied with water until his _byakugan_ had revealed that a water pipe was part of the edging of the staircase, feeding a tank located in part of the sloping roof, just next to the trap-door which gave access to the main portion of the tree.

The fact that there was no ladder to the trapdoor indicated to Hiashi that it was intended only for those who could use the tree-walking technique, a precaution he was fully in favor of.

To his surprise, there was even a small metal stove set in a stone-lined alcove close enough to the bunk beds to offer warmth, but far enough away that it was impossible for a child in even the closest bunk-bed to burn themselves by accident. Several thick curtains tied back by ropes indicated that the room could be sub-divided for privacy or warmth.

"I am impressed." Hiashi continued as his daughter passed Senju Kimimaro a few pieces of scrap-wood to put in the stove even as Yuki Haku filled a small kettle to brew some tea. "I may have to see about hiring this man Tazuna about constructing something similar in our compound. I believe that the children would appreciate it."

Hinata's face lit up with joy. "Really?"

"Really." Hiashi nodded. "And should Kimimaro and Haku both be willing to be here to keep watch over you, I see no reason for you not to spend the night here."

Hinata squeaked with joy.

.

Stepping off the staircase, Hiashi looked at Tsunade, who was speaking quietly with her eldest adopted son. The pale-haired boy nodded as she spoke, causing his ponytail to catch the gentle wind briefly, then he sprinted up to the mansion.

"Anything I should know about?"

"I sent him to get food for the other children." Tsunade gave a slight shrug. "I am sure that we have a _lot_ to talk about, so rather than having the children underfoot and complaining that we're being boring…"

"Understood."

.

Hinata gave a happy little yawn as she snuggled under the covers of her bed. Opening one eye slightly, she looked across to the bunks on the other side of the tree-house, especially the one in which her newfound friend Ruto was asleep, sprawled out in a way that made her giggle.

Part of her wondered what he looked like without the mask that he wore, just like his brothers. While the oldest one could eat in a way that made it seem that the food was passing straight through his mask (which was funny to watch), Kimimaro and Ruto both had to pull down their masks enough to reveal their mouths (or at least, their upper lips), although Kimimaro was good enough that she only caught partial glimpses.

Closing her eyes, Hinata pulled the covers up slightly further and soon her breathing showed that she was asleep.

.

"How is she doing?" Tsunade asked and Hiashi blinked.

"Pardon me?"

"You just used your _byakugan_." Tsunade pointed out. "It was fast, the veins around your eyes barely started to swell before reverting to normal. Someone who doesn't know about the _byakugan_ or doesn't pay attention would have missed it. So, how is she doing?"

"She has fallen asleep." Hiashi admitted.

"You've just got her back." Tsunade agreed. "I'm actually surprised that you're not out there keeping watch… Hiashi, why did you look guilty just then?"

"…I sent a message to the squad who came with me. They are trading watches over the tree-house throughout the night."

"I may as well tell Kashi to get some sleep, then." Tsunade noted. "Tomorrow, will you be carrying her, or shall I?"

Hiashi blinked. "Pardon?"

"I need to check in with Sensei, but I can't afford to be away for too long." Tsunade explained. "That means that we'll need to use tree-jumping and unless your daughter is far more advanced than I suspected…"

"Your point is taken." Hiashi acknowledged. "I had considered hiring a carriage or…"

"That would make her into a target." Tsunade pointed out ruthlessly. "Speed is our ally in this. Speed and secrecy."

"You are correct." Hiashi admitted. "I seem to be losing my ability to plan. If you will excuse me, I hear the call of the bed that you have provided for me."

Tsunade smirked.

.

* * *

.

"Breakfast!" Haruko called as she ascended the stairs into the tree-house, a tray heaped high with food in her hands. As she approached the trapdoor, it was lifted out of the way to reveal her son smiling at her.

"Good morning, kaa-san." He greeted her as he finished securing the trapdoor to ensure that it wouldn't fall closed. "Kimimaro saw you coming, so we set up the table."

Haruko nodded as she stepped into the tree-house. As her son had said, the table was folded out from the inner wall, resting on a triangular stand at its far end.

"Good morning Haruko-san!" Naruto and Hinata chorused before giggling and Haruko felt her smile soften as she looked at the cute duo sitting ready to eat.

"Good morning Ruto-kun, Hinata-chan." She replied as she let Kimimaro lift the tray from her hands. "Once you've had breakfast, you'll need to wash up."

Naruto nodded, then he sighed. "'nata's leaving, isn't she?"

"Yes." Haruko nodded. "However, Hiashi-sama has promised that he will allow her to visit. I know it's sad, but you should make the most of your time together."

Hinata nodded as she accepted the plate of food from Haku, then accepted the glass of chilled, diluted fruit juice to wash it down with.

"Tsunade and Shizune will make sure you get home safely." Haruko continued, causing Hinata's eyes to light up. "They have some overdue business in Konoha which needs to be dealt with, so they decided it would be better… and you would be safer… with them along too."

"Kaa-san's awesome!" Naruto boasted. "She can punch straight through a _mountain_! She's taught nii-san how to punch _boulders_ to pieces!"

Hinata's gaze shifted to Kimimaro, who shook his head even as he opened he bottle of milk that he had taken from the tray.

"Not me. Kashi-nii."

Hinata looked round for the eldest of the Senju Siblings, only to fail to see him.

"He had to head out early." Haruko explained as the children began eating. "He and Tsunade had to head out to check that the village was prepared for Tsunade's absence."

Hinata nodded as the explanation was given, then reapplied herself to her food.

.

Hiashi watched as his daughter (who was still wearing clothes borrowed from her newest friend) gave Ruto a long hug, a hug which was returned.

As she slowly (and unwillingly) separated from the masked blond boy, Hiashi reflected that her actions over the last day or so would have caused several of the Clan Elders to collapse from frothing indignation.

Maybe he could get more of the younger members of his clan to act like that in order to clear out the deadwood.

Shaking off the thought, Hiashi waited for his daughter to take Tsunade's hand. As the Iryonin escorted her to him, he glanced across at Itachi, who was waiting with the other four members of the escort squad.

"We are ready, Hiashi-sama." Itachi reported and Hiashi gave a nod of satisfaction.

"Then it is time for us to bring my daughter home."

.

* * *

.

"Here we are!" Tsunade stated as she landed gently on the road leading up to the main gate of Konoha. Shizune landed almost as lightly beside her, but the other Shinobi were a great deal less graceful, only Itachi and Hiashi not stumbling from exhaustion caused by the pace that Tsunade had set.

Crouching down, Tsunade ended the tree-climbing-inspired chakra hold on Hinata, allowing her to drop to the ground and trot over to her father, who proceeded to pick her up. Although he had been quite insistent on being the one to carry his daughter, Tsunade had pointed out that as one of the best defense-specialists in the team _and_ the one with the _byakugan_ , Hiashi would be best in a close flanking position, using his dojutsu to scan for threats and being ready to intercept should any arrive.

Of course, now that they had reached their destination, the roles had changed and Tsunade half-expected Hiashi to be carrying Hinata around for the next several months, if not longer.

A mental image of a stone-faced Hiashi sat in a child's chair at the Shinobi Academy, Hinata perched on his lap, almost caused her to laugh and she quickly banished the image before turning her focus to the gate as it swung open, Itachi having taken the initiative of talking to the gate guards.

"I think that we should go to the tower first." Tsunade suggested. "Just so that Sensei can see for himself that your lost treasure has been returned safely.

"An excellent idea." Hiashi agreed with a small smile.

"My lady, if I may…" Shizune said quietly, just as they had decided beforehand and Tsunade nodded.

"Go ahead. Once you're done, see if you can get one of the bedrooms in the old Senju manor set up for an overnight stay."

"Yes, my lady." Shizune bowed before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

"Memories." Tsunade sighed and most of the shinobi around her nodded in understanding.

.

"Tsunade." Hiruzen said, a small, sad smile flickering on his face as Hiashi left the office, his daughter asleep in his arms. "It's good to see you again."

Tsunade nodded and moved round the desk, her medical reflexes taking over.

"Sensei, what have you been doing to yourself? You look _terrible_. Your chakra is unbalanced, your control reduced and it looks like you aren't getting enough food or sleep."

"The last few years have been hard. Danzo getting killed and having to re-integrate his ROOT back into the shinobi ranks hasn't helped either." Hiruzen sighed. "Where's your niece? The gate sent word that she was with you, but…"

"Shizune wanted to pay her respects to Minato and Kushina." Tsunade said truthfully. "I believe she wanted to stop by the remains of their old house, then go to the memorial."

"I engraved their names myself." Hiruzen sighed, looking down at his desk, but Tsunade saw that his gaze was unfocused. "Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto. I failed him, Tsunade. I failed Minato, I failed his family."

"But everyone knows." Tsunade said, resting her hand reassuringly on Hiruzen's shoulder. "They know about Minato's son, the burden he was asked to bear and how he was betrayed before the village could see him as the hero he truly was. How is Jiraiya taking it?"

"Jiraiya's out searching for whoever did it." Hiruzen said quietly. "But he said the Toads are being… cryptic about it. They keep referring to Naruto as being _lost_ , not actually deceased."

Only decades of self-control kept Tsunade's breath from catching. Fortunately for her, Hiruzen continued without noticing.

"The name Naruto has become quite popular now. In the last year alone, seventeen boys have been given that name, and twelve girls have been named Naru _ko_."

"Kushina would laugh at the confusion in the schools when they all enroll." Tsunade dead-panned and Hiruzen nodded with a sad chuckle.

"She would indeed." He confirmed. "She would indeed."

For several minutes, both of them remained quiet as the sun slowly descended towards the horizon, then Hiruzen coughed.

"I hear you've settled in Wave. Planning to stay there?"

"For the foreseeable future, yes." Tsunade said. "I've adopted a couple of the local orphans and have set up a small clinic that I'm thinking of extending at some point. The locals are very happy to have the great _IryoSannin_ helping to cure their coughs and sniffles. Shizune is happy too, she's fallen for one of the orphans, he's about her age and helps a lot round the clinic. He's got good potential as a ninja, I may train him."

Hiruzen nodded slowly. "Train him up enough and I might poach him to become the Godaime Hokage. Kami knows I never wanted this job back…"

A knock on the door caused them to look up, then it opened to reveal Shizune.

"My Lady, Lord Hokage."

"Shizune, how did…"

Tsunade's question trailed off as she remembered who was with them and Shizune lowered her head slightly.

"I got to say and do all that I wanted to, My Lady. Do you wish my further presence, or shall I wait at the mansion for you?"

"I'll join you at the mansion." Tsunade said. "We'll head back tomorrow."

"Yes my lady." Shizune said, bowing before retreating out of the room. Hiruzen and Tsunade watched her leave, then Hiruzen spoke.

"While you're here, do you wish to claim any of the Senju scrolls from the archives?"

"Only the medical ones, I'll copy them when I get home and then I'll have the copies sent back here to be used in the hospital." Tsunade said. "I may be living with my new family in Wave, but Konoha is still my true home when all is said and done. I just need more time to come to terms with…"

"Dan and Nawaki." Hiruzen said softly, his voice filled with understanding, glancing at the door where Shizune had vanished. "Of course. Take all the time you need."

"By the way," Tsunade said as a thought occurred to her, "The next time you see the Daimyo, you may want to put forward the possibility of getting a full alliance with Wave. They don't have a Hidden Village of their own and an alliance would secure that border."

"An excellent idea." Hiruzen smiled. "And of course, having you already there and building up the goodwill won't hurt a bit."

"My thoughts exactly." Tsunade smiled. "My thoughts exactly."

.

Hiashi sat down in front of the Clan Council and looked round as if daring the Elders to meet his gaze.

"We owe a debt to the Senju Clan for doing what we could not, for preventing the _byakugan_ from falling into enemy hands."

"The _Caged Bird_ seal…" One of the Elders began, only for Hiashi to interrupt him in a cold, intense voice.

"Would have done _nothing_! Even if my daughter _had_ been branded with the Seal, they could still have taken her eyes without triggering it!"

Several of the Elders flinched at the thought of losing the things which made them so feared on the battlefield.

"They had planned to use her as _breeding stock_!" Hiashi hissed. "The _Caged Bird Seal_ would have done _nothing_ to stop the offspring sired upon her from being born with our sacred dojutsu!"

The silence deepened as Hiashi glared at them.

"I will not tolerate any more of your attempts to curb the development and creation of the new protective Seal. The sooner that it is created, to protect our bloodline against _all_ threats rather than turn us against each other, the better!  
"As such, I declare that from this day forth, _no-one_ shall be branded with the _Caged Bird Seal_ for any reason! If you wish for our eyes to be protected, then you will _support_ the creation of a seal that does just that! Do. You. All. Understand?"

The small movements would have been frantic nods in any other clan.

"Good." Hiashi closed his eyes for a moment, but his long-suppressed rage didn't abate and several of the Elders found themselves tensing up.

"Among the possessions of the one who stole my daughter was a piece of parchment with the patrol routes and times of our guards on it."

Hiashi's eyes re-opened and seemed to ignite with a fury that no-one had ever seen before.

"One of you betrayed us. I want to know who and why!"

.

"Tsunade!"

"Tsume!" Tsunade laughed as the Kunoichi grabbed her in a massive hug which she returned. "And these are?"

"A couple of Kunoichi I've been mentoring in my free time." Tsume waved at the older of the duo, a red-eyed dark-haired teenager wearing a chunin vest over a red sleeveless bodysuit. "This one is Yuhi Kurenai, she's naturally gifted at Genjutsu and is working on integrating it into her fighting style. Kurenai, Tsunade."

Kurenai bowed slightly, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and Tsume waved at the younger girl next to her, a purple-haired young teenager wearing body armor, bracers and a katana slung over her right shoulder, allowing for a fast draw combining with a downwards-slashing attack. "And this cute genin is Yūgao Uzuki, a budding Kenjutsu specialist. She's currently studying tracking with me as she's hoping to become an ANBU. So, wanna catch up a bit, maybe help me continue their education in what being a _real_ Kunoichi is about?"

"It would be a pleasure." Tsunade chuckled. "Come in and help me uncover some of the furniture so we can sit down as we talk."

.

* * *

.

The gates receded into the distance, vanishing behind the canopy of the trees as Tsunade and Shizune leapt through the branches.

"So it worked, then?" Tsunade asked after checking that there were no other chakra sources within range. Shizune nodded, indicating her bulging bag.

"It did, but I almost failed. There were far more scrolls than I had expected in there, it was fortunate that Minato had been experimenting with new storage seals. He managed to create a storage seal less than a tenth of the size of a normal one, but it still took me twelve scrolls to seal everything."

Tsunade whistled. "Kamis above, you had to seal the equivalent of a _hundred and twenty_ scrolls of stuff? How much of it was jutsu?"

"About a quarter were books and scrolls, mainly about Fuuinjutsu." Shizune replied, ducking as she passed a bit to closely to one of the branches. "There was a _lot_ of gold and jewels, and four of the scrolls are weapons. I almost couldn't _believe_ how many of his Kunai he had pre-stored, two entire scrolls worth."

"Well, at least when Ruto starts learning the _Hiraishin_ , he'll have plenty of Kunai to practice with." Tsunade shrugged after several minutes thought. "There were _Hiraishin_ scrolls, weren't there?"

"There were." Shizune nodded. "Three of them, one of them signed by Senju Tobirama."

"You're kidding!" Tsunade gasped. "It's a _Senju_ technique? I thought _Minato_ had created it."

Shizune shook her head. "From what I was able to see from the scroll, Minato refined it, cutting the amount of chakra it needed and minimizing the time it took to implement. Tobirama noted that he could only use it a few times before before needing to rest, Minato could use it hundreds of times and over considerably longer distances."

Tsunade whistled, then slowly nodded.

"If it's based on a Senju technique, that means that we could possibly learn it ourselves, which will help us in teaching it to Ruto when he grows older."

"It'll be useful for going into town and back as well." Shizune grinned. "Just put one tag in the back room of a small building in town and another back in the mansion and… _pop_! Instant movement."

"Might be an idea to install a platform with fake seals on it." Tsunade mused. "Make them look complicated enough and no-one will suspect it's really a small tag that does it. Include a few light-seals for dramatic effect and it'll look cool as anything."

"Put a tag in the Senju mansion and you'll be able to visit Konoha whenever you like." Shizune added, then she grinned. "How many tags do you think Minato left around Konoha?"

Tsunade shrugged. "Probably quite a few. Now, _using_ them is another problem. The old lecher tried and failed to learn it."

Shizune frowned. "Interesting. We both know that it couldn't be his chakra control that was the issue since Jiyaiya-sama is capable of Sage-mode… blood-lock perhaps?"

"We'll find out back at the mansion." Tsunade shrugged as she ducked under a branch growing at _just_ the wrong height. "I hope the scrolls _explain_ the damned technique. I don't want to spark the lecher's curiosity by asking him about the _Hiraishin_."

"That could be a problem." Shizune agreed.

After several more kilometres had flashed past, Tsunade smirked.

"My lady?" Shizune asked nervously, having seen that particular style of smirk before.

"It occurs to me that Kashi knew Minato's style the best." Tsunade noted. "I think it will be a good project for him. Keep him out of trouble, as it were."

Shizune managed to both pale and blush at the same time, much to her mentor's amusement.


	6. Progressions

"How is it going?" Shizune asked and Kakashi looked up from the scrolls that he was poring over.

"I've just about finished decoding it, I think I've gone from Journeyman to Master in Fuuinjutsu over the last nine months, and Sensei was a _genius_." He waved a notebook at Shizune, allowing her to see the lines of notes on it. "I sort-of knew _how_ it worked, but the actual details... I swear, Minato-Sensei took the Senju version of the _Hiraishin_ and then he… he took it _sideways_. That's the only way I can describe it. He mixed in some extra seals, allowing him to detect things close to the destination seals and to allow him to… _bounce_ between seals. He didn't have to _repeat_ the technique for each jump, he just had to _maintain_ it and select which seal he would appear at next."

Shizune blinked. "Wait, you mean…"

"That's how he ended the Third Shinobi War." Kakashi nodded. "Everyone assumed that his reflexes were so fast that he was repeating the jutsu dozens of times per second. _No-one_ wanted to face someone who could do _that_. The way that he _really_ did it, though… it's still incredible, but it's not as superhuman as it seemed.  
"It also has some downsides compared to the original version." Kakashi continued, flipping through his notebook. "For starters, the range is significantly less but the Chakra cost _isn't_ proportionately smaller. Admittedly, most of the Chakra cost is taken up by the initiation of the technique, but each _bounce_ does increase the amount of Chakra needed by a small but significant amount, meaning that something like Sensei did? Easily _twice_ as much as a simple Senju _Hiraishin_.  
"In addition, the _bounces_ need _incredible_ Chakra control, otherwise they become… random. You end up almost anywhere except where you intended to go. Tsunade could do it easily with her level of control. I probably could and since you've done more _Iryonin_ training than I have, you should be able to do it too.  
"Sensei knew about the range problem, so he came up with another variant which he taught to three people…"

"The Guard _Hiraishin_!" Shizune realized.

"It uses Chakra resonance to create a pulse that boosts the range enough that it could theoretically let the users transport someone across the Elemental Nations in one move, assuming that they have a target." Kakashi confirmed. "I'm still trying to understand exactly _how_ Sensei managed to create a technique that uses such a phenomenon."

"How long before you can teach us?" Shizune asked and Kakashi shrugged.

"I'm not sure. By the looks of it, I still need to master the Senbon-balancing exercise in order to be able to do Sensei's version, although I _think_ I should currently be able to do it using Tobirama's method."

"And the Guard method?" Shizune asked and Kakashi shook his head.

"The most obvious use of it would be to go to Konoha and back, but… I'm officially dead, remember? If I go there, there's too much chance I'll be recognized… even with my hair in a ponytail rather than my old spikes. I can't risk it and since it needs _three_ shinobi to perform it…"

Shizune nodded in reluctant agreement.

"On the other hand, Tobirama's method has _just_ enough range to reach Konoha in two jumps. We just need to find a good place at the midpoint to place a targeting seal and then instead of spending a day running, kaa-san can simply perform two jumps."

"Sounds like a good idea to me, but I'd recommend factoring in a safety margin, so a _three_ jump route would be better. It would also allow for a less straight-line route, making the way-points easier to hide." Tsunade stated from the doorway, causing both teens to jump in shock.

"It'll take a lot of practice to get it right." Kakashi pointed out. "The Senju version will be… _less difficult_ to learn and it'll make it… I want to say _easier_ , but that isn't the right term. Less impossible? to learn Sensei's version."

"Agreed." Tsunade nodded. "Kashi, figure out how to do it, then teach us."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

.

* * *

.

"You seem excited, Hinata-san." Neji noted as his cousin almost bounced down the staircase from her favorite place, the tree-house that Hiashi had ordered built and which had, to all intents and purposes, become Hinata's primary bedroom, much to her father's not-quite-hidden amusement and the rather-less-hidden annoyance of the now thoroughly de-fanged Council of Elders.

"I'm about to visit Ruto-kun!" Hinata almost danced as she descended to ground level and Neji raised an eyebrow with all the self-possession of his five years of age.

"Ruto- _kun_?"

Hinata nodded. "Yep! I wonder who's taking me?"

"That would be me." Hizashi noted as he strolled up to them. "I will be leading the team."

Neji paused and Hizashi ruffled his hair slightly, earning a scowl of annoyance.

"Neji, if you want to come, I'm sure that you can."

Neji shook his head. "Thank you, but I need to continue to work on my _Jyuuken_ stances."

Hizashi managed not to sigh. "Very well. I spotted Ko heading for the Dojo…"

Neji gave his father a quick bow, then strode off. Hizashi watched him go, then shook his head.

"Dammit, brother." He whispered to himself. "Why did you let my son know that he may yet be chosen as Heir? He's still too young, it went straight to his head…"

"…uncle?"

Hizashi refocused on his niece.

"My apologies, Hinata-chan. I was caught in thought." He apologized. "Have you selected the clothing you wish to take with you?"

Hinata nodded. "They're on my bed!"

"Then since I happen to have a sealing scroll on me, may I help you pack?"

.

* * *

.

"…that's different." Haku noted as Kimimaro went through a slow kata with a sword that was made from one of his own bones.

"…cool…" Naruto whispered, then he pulled down the collar of his T-shirt and started grabbing at his shoulder. "Come on! Come on! Gimme sword! Come on!"

"…what is going on?" Shizune asked as she came to a stop beside them, looking at Naruto with befuddlement.

"Ruto-kun's trying to get a sword so he can join in." Haku rolled his eyes as Naruto gave a growl of frustration.

"…wanna sword." He grumbled. "Nii-san gets swords from shoulder. Why can't I?"

In front of them, Kimimaro repeated his Kata, but at a noticeably faster speed.

"Kimimaro was born with the ability to make his own swords, just like Haku has the ability to do all those interesting things with ice." Shizune explained carefully and Naruto's eyes widened.

"Can you make a sword from ice?"

Haku blinked at the unexpected question. "I… don't know. I suppose I _could_ do it but… Ruto? Where did you go?"

A moment later, Naruto reappeared, lugging a bucket half-filled with water. Wet patches on his clothes showed that the bucket had started out much fuller and he placed it in front of Haku with an eager grin.

"I think he wants you to demonstrate." Shizune giggled and Haku sighed before kneeling down so that he could place one hand into the water. Naruto watched in amazement as Haku withdrew his hand, a nearly-transparent katana in his grip.

"…Coooooooool!" Naruto breathed as Haku took a couple of practice swings, then paused at the pained expression on Kimimaro's face.

"If you are going to use a sword, you need to learn _how_ to use it." Kimimaro noted, then he frowned slightly. "Those swings should have caused it to break."

"As long as my chakra is in it, I can control it." Haku noted as he held the sword out for Naruto to examine. "I can make it as hard as diamond if I want to."

Kimimaro tilted his head slightly in thought, then nodded firmly.

"Do you want to learn how to use it?"

Haku paused for a moment before shrugging. "The basics, yes. Let's see if I can do it."

"Then follow my lead." Kimimaro commanded as he took a basic stance. "We shall start with blocks and parries, just like nii-san taught me."

"Come on, Ruto." Shizune tapped the young blond on his shoulder. "I think it's almost time for a quick snack."

Naruto watched the sword-wielding duo with a longing expression, then he sighed. "Okay..."

"Let's see what Haruko's got for us, shall we?"

"Okay!"

"Then we'll set up the tree-house again so you can have another sleepover with Hinata when she gets here tonight."

"Yay!"

.

* * *

.

"Nice place." Inuzuka Tsume noted as the group made their way up the path to the mansion, Hinata perched on Kuromaru's back. The Inuzuka Hound nodded in agreement.

"Lots of running space and I can scent some prey in the forest, if we want to hunt. Boar."

"Perhaps later." Tsume replied, her eyes taking in the area around them as well as the pavilion to one side where an old lady was teaching a group of children basic kanji. "I thought that this was just the Senju mansion and hospital?"

"With the village's expansion, it's become somewhat more." Tsunade admitted ruefully from behind them, causing most of the shinobi to jump in shock.

"Tsunade-sama." Hizashi nodded in greeting even as he stabilized his niece, who had almost fallen off when Kuromaru had spun round.

"Tsunade-oba!" Hinata waved and Tsunade smiled back.

"Hello, Hinata-chan. I'm afraid that Ruto's in class at the moment, but he'll be finished soon. Why don't we get you settled in while we wait?"

Hinata looked over at the pavilion, almost instantly locating the blond hair of her best friend.

"You can join the class tomorrow." Tsunade added and Hinata's smile almost rivaled the afternoon's sun. "Hello, Tsume. I hadn't expected you to take an escort mission."

"Tsunade." The Inuzuka clan-head returned the greeting. "I'm using the mission to break in some scouts. It looks like one or two need to work more on their physical conditioning."

Tsunade's amused glance took in the half-dozen shinobi who were showing various levels of tiredness. "Well, I'd recommend some chilled diluted fruit juice and as it so happens, I have a large supply."

"Hiashi made certain that I knew where the tree-house was." Hizashi noted. "I will get my niece unpacked, then we will join you in the kitchen."

"I'll have some water." Kuromaru added and Tsunade nodded to the large hound.

"I have some fresh steak as well, if you are hungry."

Kuromaru's expression remained unchanged, but his tail started wagging.

.

"Freedom!" Naruto celebrated as he burst through the front door of the mansion. "No more classes for… _Doggy_!"

Kuromaru remained motionless in surprise as he was glomped by a fast-moving blond blur, then he turned his head to glower at Tsume, who was grinning widely at his discomfiture.

"Ruto?"

"'nata!"

Kuromaru blinked as the limpet that had attached itself to him suddenly vanished.

Turning, he managed to catch a glimpse of the two children vanishing through a door, then he turned back to his Shinobi, who was leaning against the wall as she laughed at him. After a long moment, he growled and stalked out into the front garden, trying to preserve the tattered shreds of his dignity.

.

"Whoah." Hinata breathed in awe as she watched Haku and Kimimaro sparring. Kimimaro was using a white blade that for some reason looked like it was made of bone while Haku's sword was almost invisible, save for when it flashed in the late afternoon sunlight. To one side, Ruto's eldest brother Kashi watched the sparring duo carefully, occasionally calling out a command or pausing the spar to demonstrate a move with his own Katana.

"When I'm older, I'm gonna learn how to fight like that too." Ruto whispered to her.

"They're good." Hinata agreed.

.

* * *

.

"We checked and the youngest two are asleep." Tsume announced as she entered Tsunade's study, Kuromaru by her side. Flopping down into the spare seat, she gave Tsunade a long look.

"Thank you." Tsunade finished writing the paragraph she was concentrating on, then gently blew on the parchment to help the ink dry before rolling it up and tying a ribbon round it. Looking up, she paused. "You have a question?"

"He does." Tsume nodded towards her ninken, who took the cue provided.

"Your youngest has an odd scent. He smells of foxes… and of two whom I knew before the Kyuubi came."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, eyes narrowed as she gazed at the hound.

"Your oldest… _his_ scent I know." Kuromaru continued. "He summons my brethren."

"You know quite a bit." Tsunade noted in a flat voice.

"He also knows when not to speak about things." Tsume interjected. "But what he said… Hatake and the Yondaime's son?"

"It's classified." Tsunade snapped.

"It's why you settled down." Tsume reached out to rest one hand on Kuromaru's hackles. "Hell of a plan, but using another kid to fake his death?"

" _That_ was Danzo." Tsunade replied in a growl that would have made Kuromaru proud. "We hijacked his plan. With no-one looking for him, Ruto's safe until it's time for him to become a shinobi."

Tsume nodded with a lopsided grin. "Nice. No wonder Hiruzen's gone out of his way to let Hinata-chan visit so often. The Hyuuga are your conduit for passing reports to him and since Hiashi's one of the Advisers, no-one would suspect anything was happening other than normal political stuff."

Tsunade simply raised an eyebrow and Tsume's grin grew more crooked.

"I'll keep quiet about it, don't worry. Even though I'm a Clan Head, it's probably classified so high that under normal circumstances, I'd only have found out once he took the Hitai-ate… if then. Hell, it explains a _lot_ and my respect for the Hokage's just shot up even more. Using his rival's plan to set up his own without any advance warning? Incredible."

For several moments, the study was silent, then Tsume leaned forwards.

"Tsunade, my daughter's learning about medicine with the intent of becoming a vet. Can I ask you to teach her for a few months or so? Not immediately, but once she's reached chunin…"

"She must be quite gifted." Tsunade mused. "If I remember right, she's.. ten?"

"Eleven." Tsume corrected. "She's just become a genin, but she's already quite advanced. I give it no more than three years before she hits chunin."

Tsunade steepled her fingers as she thought about it, then she nodded.

"Once she hits chunin, but not before."

Tsume grinned.

.

* * *

.

* * *

.

"Good morning, Princess!"

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose for a long moment, then she gave in to the inevitable and turned to where Jiraiya was lounging along the windowsill.

"Jiraiya." She sighed. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I know." Jiraiya dropped to the ground and ambled over, glancing at the paperwork on Tsunade's desk. "I had to get a lift to get here, chap named Kaiza brought me over."

"And you came here because?" Tsunade queried, ignoring how Jiraiya had perched himself against her desk. "It's been a couple of years since you last showed up."

"Several reasons." Jiraiya shrugged. "The most important reason is a chap called Gato."

Tsunade paused, eyes unfocused as she combed her memory. After a few moments, she shook her head.

"Name doesn't ring a bell. Who is he?"

"Merchant. Leader of an entire consortium." Jiraiya frowned. "Scum. I recently rescued a few girls from one of his operations and took them to Konoha where I set them up with jobs and arranged for therapy from the Yamanakas. He's looking at Wave."

Tsunade returned the paperwork to the file it had come from, then gave her fellow Sannin a long look.

"We've got an alliance treaty with _Hi no Kuni_."

"He knows." Jiraiya agreed. "He doesn't think it's important… and yes, he's aware that you live here."

Tsunade blinked. "What?"

"The girls I rescued?" Jiraiya almost snarled. "Former Kunoichi. Bastard had them addicted in order to force them to obey him. Fortunately, Ma was able to help prevent them dying from the withdrawal symptoms, but they'll never be able to take to the field again."

Tsunade winced, then her eyebrows drew down. "You think that he…"

"Intends to do the same to you?" Jiraiya asked. "I think that he'll try to grab one of the others as a hostage to ensure your compliance. Once he's forced you to submit, he'll probably try to get you hooked on something so he can increase his control over you. He'll probably be able to give it a damned good go, he's got quite a few ex-Samurai and Shinobi on his payroll."

"How long do we have?" Tsunade rose from her chair.

"At least a few months or so, he's still raising his private army." Jiraiya watched as Tsunade paced the study, recognizing the signs of her planning something big. For several moments, Tsunade prowled the study, then she stopped.

"Do you have one of Minato's Kunai?"

Jiraiya blinked at the question. "At home in Konoha. Why?"

"Because, as much as I hate this, I don't think I can deal with this threat alone. Once I brief Sensei, you are going to get that Kunai and keep it on you at all times."

Jiraiya shook his head in confusion. "What? Tsunade, you make it sound like you know the Hiraishin?"

Tsunade grinned almost ferally as she opened the door.

"Haruko? I need Shizune and Kashi. Something's come up and we'll be away for a few hours."

Jiraiya blinked again. "What?"

.

Hiruzen put down the brush with a sigh, then he picked up the piece of paper and placed it almost ceremoniously on the pile of paperwork that had been reviewed by him. Leaning back in his chair, he looked at the now-empty in-tray on his desk and gave a tired smile.

"Finished at last." He whispered to himself as his assistant bustled in and departed with the kami-damned pile of papers. "And now that everything's sorted, I can go _**WHAT THE HELL**_!?"

Hiruzen's chair shattered against the wall of his office as he exploded to his feet, hands rising in preparation for unleashing a barrage of offensive jutsu, only to come to a sudden stop as he realized that he knew three of the quartet who had somehow appeared out of nowhere before him.

After all, two of them he had personally taught.

"What the…?"

"Sensei?" Tsunade smiled as she dropped her hands from where they had been touching the hands of Shizune and the teenaged boy who looked somehow familiar. In the middle of the triangular formation, Jiraiya was staring at the teen with an expression which indicated that he _knew_ the boy, he just couldn't quite work out who he was. "Sorry for dropping in on you like this."

"Was that the _Hiraishin_?" Hiruzen asked almost numbly and Tsunade nodded.

"Yes, it was. Kashi and I can do all three versions, Shizune can do Tobirama's version and the Guard version. It took us over a year to learn, even with the scrolls."

Hiruzen blinked, then looked forlornly at the wreckage of his chair.

"I think I need to sit down for this." He grumbled before moving round to the front of the desk. As he seated himself on it, Jiraiya suddenly clicked his fingers.

"Kakashi! Hatake Kakashi! Damn, that ponytail is one hell of a disguise!"

Hiruzen blinked again, then looked at the youngest person in the room, mentally adding an angled Hitai-ate and spiked hair. As the mental image formed, his face hardened.

"ANBU Inu, report!"

Kakashi snapped to attention.

"ANBU Operative Inu reporting on continuing mission to protect the Yondaime's Son!"

"What!?"

"Maybe I should explain." Tsunade interjected over Hiruzen's disbelieving shout.

"Maybe you should." Hiruzen agreed, feeling somewhat disconcerted.

"After the Kyuubi attacked, Kakashi stumbled across a plot to fake Naruto's death in order to turn him into little more than an emotionless weapon…

...

"…and that's what happened." Tsunade finished almost an hour later. Hiruzen nodded in dazed acceptance, then took a swig from the bottle of Sake that Jiraiya had produced ten minutes into the explanation before handing it back to the Toad Sage. "I was intending to enroll Kimimaro and Naruto into the Academy for their final years and Haku wants to be a Shinobi too, so I was hoping to get Haku and Kimimaro in next year although with their bloodlimits, they're almost at Chunin level already."

"I can't believe that you managed to keep this a secret even from _me_." Jiraiya mused. "Does anyone else know?"

"I _think_ Hiashi may suspect, although I'm not certain." Tsunade admitted. "I know that Tsume is fully aware of it, we had a talk about it during her first time escorting Hinata-chan. That and me possibly training her daughter in the medical arts."

Jiraiya groaned. "Oh _come on_! How did _she_ work it out when _I_ didn't even have a clue?"

"Kuromaru recognized Kakashi's scent." Tsunade supplied, causing Jiraiya to slump against the wall muttering about how annoying lucky novices were. "I'm afraid I kind of misled her into thinking it was classified."

"It is." Hiruzen stated, causing Tsunade to sag in relief. "I'll backdate the mission papers and put them in the Hidden Archive. Oh, Kakashi?"

"…Hai?"

"Now that I know you're alive _and_ know your Sensei's travel technique, I may call on you to perform some missions."

"Hai!"

"In the meantime… I do believe that it's almost time for Hinata's annual visit. Correct?"

Tsunade nodded. "Ruto's been getting rather eager to see her again."

"You mentioned you might be training Hana in _Iryojutsu_." Hiruzen continued. "I'll arrange for her to come to you on the escort mission and stay until the Gato situation is over while the two you mentioned come here to enroll. Kimimaro and… Haku, was it?"

"Senju Kimimaro and Yuki Haku." Tsunade confirmed. " _Shikotsumyaku_ and _Hyoton_ respectively."

Hiruzen gave a small smile as he accepted the bottle back, then paused as Tsunade placed a glowing hand on his stomach.

"You need to cut back on your drinking." Tsunade scolded. "You are not doing your kidneys any good drinking like Jiraiya does."

"Oi!" The Sage in question protested.

"Of course, this leads to the problem of how I can break this news to my advisers." Hiruzen frowned. "Hiashi's been making noises about arranging a marriage between Hinata and Ruto, so…"

"Have him lead the next escort mission and I'll tell him then." Tsunade suggested.

"And how will I balance things out?" Hiruzen asked. "With a possible marriage to not only a scion of the Senju, but to the son of the Yondaime, the Uchiha will need _something_ to match the gains the Hyuuga clan will make."

"You can give them the Godaime." Jiraiya suggested, earning quizzical looks. "Uchiha Itachi would be almost perfect. His loyalty to the village is among the highest-rated of all active Shinobi. Hell, I heard it's higher than _mine_ and I'm the chief spymaster!"

Hiruzen nodded slowly. "…yes. Yes, that would probably work. It would take several years to get him fully trained… but it would ensure that the Uchiha Clan wouldn't _dream_ of trying to make any power grabs, not when they think that they'll win simply by waiting…"

Jiraiya smirked.

"And it means that I won't risk Konoha by allowing you to take over." Hiruzen added.

"Oi!" The Toad Sannin protested.

.

* * *

.

"Ruto-kun!"

Hinata dashed clumsily across the herb garden towards the love of her life (although she still hadn't managed to summon enough courage to tell him that), Ruto, who turned and beamed at her, his welcoming smile somehow obvious despite his mask. As she got close her foot briefly caught on a loose rock and she stumbled forwards, failing to recover as she lost control.

"Hinat- _umph_!"

Hinata crashed into Ruto and grabbed him to keep her balance just as his arms closed around her to prevent her from falling. She reflexively looked up into the eyes of her saviour just as her momentum…  
…caused her lips to meet Ruto's.

Sheer shock held her motionless for a moment, then she relaxed into Ruto's embrace, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the feel of his lips against hers even through the thin layer of fabric, his arms wrapped protectively around her as she enjoyed her first kiss. Opening her eyes again, she found herself looking past Ruto at Tsunade, who was standing watching them with an unreadable expression on her face. Panic rose and the world seemed to whirl away.

**/**

"Ruto-kun!"

Naruto turned and smiled at his best friend (who he hadn't seen in far too long) as she seemed to dance gracefully through the medical garden towards him. As she got closer, she tripped on a loose stone and Naruto quickly stepped forwards to catch her, his arms scooping her up before she could fall and pulling her close to him…  
…and their lips met.

Naruto froze in shock, his mind spinning as she seemed to melt against him, her lips locked onto his through his mask. Never before had he been so simultaneously grateful for and yet so irritated by the tradition that kept all the Senju males masked. For a moment, he feared that she would be angry with him, but then he felt her arms tighten around him and he closed his eyes briefly as he realised that it was not just him that was enjoying the situation.

Naruto opened his eyes just in time to see Hinata open hers, then her eyes widened in shock before rolling up as she collapsed bonelessly.

"Hinata!"

Naruto dropped to his knees as he tried to stop her falling to the ground. Cradling her head against his shoulder, he reached up and quickly checked her pulse and respiration.

"Hinata? Hina-kun?"

"I think she fainted." Tsunade said from behind him, her voice full of amusement. Naruto glanced round and saw Tsunade's eyes crinkled with mirth.

"Fainted? What do you mean, kaa-san?"

"She's _finally_ laid claim on you." Tsunade said, then she sighed at Naruto's confused expression. "I don't know _how_ you missed it, gaki, but Hinata's been in love with you ever since you, Kashi and Kimimaro rescued her."

"With… me?!" Naruto exclaimed, his face paling with shock. "But… but… she's from Leaf and I'm the Kyuubi Jinchuriki! The Kyuubi attacked Leaf, how can she..?"

"She does, and I don't think it matters to her." Tsunade said. "Or it won't, if you tell her. You're not the Kyuubi, remember? Now, pick her up, I think it best if she wakes up inside."

Naruto lifted Hinata up and followed Tsunade to Hinata's room. Bending over to put her on her bed, he froze as the situation became clear.

"Kaa-san, she's holding onto me, I can't get loose…"

"Then you should stay with her until she wakes up." Tsunade said as she stepped out of the room, grinning at her adopted son's expression. "You may as well get a nap as well."

" _Kaa-san_!"

.

"So, how are they?"

Tsunade smiled. "Having a nap, girl's got quite a grip. Even laid out cold, she wouldn't let Ruto go after he carried her to her room. I just told him to get some sleep and let her keep hugging him."

Kakashi chuckled. "Like that, is it?"

Tsunade nodded, then sighed. "Well, we may as well go and get her old geezer read into the mission. Coming?"

"I wouldn't miss this for the world." Kakashi murmured.

.

"Tsunade-sama." Hiashi said, bowing.

"Hiashi-sama." Tsunade replied with a slightly-shallower bow. "I apologize for the delay. You have business you wish to discuss?"

Hiashi glanced at Kakashi and raised one eyebrow slightly.

"Kashi is completely trustworthy." Tsunade said, moving to one of the couches and waving for Hiashi to sit even as Kakashi moved silently to stand behind her. "I hold no secrets from him, or from Shizune."

Hiashi looked round. "Where is Shizune?"

"Shizune is taking care of some business in town for me." Tsunade said with a smile. "She will be back this evening."

"I see." Hiashi said. "Very well. The Hokage knew that I would be escorting my daughter here, and has sent me with a message. In addition, I have something personal to ask as well. Which would you like first?"

"What does the old monkey say?" Tsunade asked and Hiashi straightened.

"Senju Tsunade, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, has personally approved the entrance into the Academy for the two that you have sponsored. The Nara Clan have offered the use of one of their guest lodges for them, unless you have made other arrangements. I have brought several messenger birds with me as well, should you wish to correspond with the Hokage."

"I see no problems with that." Tsunade said slowly. "And your personal mission?"

Hiashi said. "Since the introduction of the new Seal that protects our bloodline, the internal affairs of my clan have become… complex. I have for now acknowledged my nephew Neji as Heir Apparent, but there are several factions forming who see Hinata as a better choice since they believe that she could be manipulated by them… effectively becoming their puppet. I wish to safeguard her, so…"

"You seek a betrothal for her." Tsunade finished as he explained his reasoning. "You wish to betroth Hinata to my son, Ruto, and have her marry into the Senju clan."

Hiashi nodded and Tsunade closed her eyes.

"I don't know if you are aware of this, but Ruto is not of my blood." She said slowly. Hiashi's eyes widened and Tsunade smiled mirthlessly.

"In fact, Ruto is the son of a close friend of mine who is now dead. I took him in and raised him as my own son. He wasn't the only one who I took in that fateful day."

Hiashi sat un-moving, unable to bring himself to do or say anything that would interrupt the unexpected revelation.

"Ruto is an Uzumaki."

Hiashi's gasp echoed round the room. "An Uzumaki? I thought they were all dead! How?"

"His parents died during the Kyuubi incident." Tsunade said. "Kashi rescued him from those who wished to kidnap him and lacking any other choice, he brought him to me and I adopted him. In an odd way, he saved my life, gave me something to live for. Needless to say, this information is currently beyond S-rank and Sensei has given me his full approval for my actions."

Hiashi froze, his eyes wide. "Kyuubi… Uzumaki… Kami! Your son is Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto!? Which means that… Hatake Kakashi!"

Tsunade nodded slightly and Hiashi took a shuddering breath, then slid off the settee, dropping into a formal prostration.

"Senju Tsunade, you have saved the life of the child of my closest friend, the Yondaime Hokage. Although I cannot tell the Clan this, I shall do all in my power to aid you from this day forwards, even if it costs me my life."

Tsunade and Kakashi exchanged a long glance, then Tsunade sighed.

"Get up, Hiashi. If you want to help, tell me about the latest factions in the Councils. Both the Hyuuga and the Leaf."


	7. Invasion

Naruto sighed as he watched Hinata (on her father's back) vanish into the trees, flanked by Haku and Kimimaro. A hand came to rest on his shoulder and he looked up to see Inuzuka Hana smiling down at him.

"I know how it is, cub." She said quietly. "I had to leave my younger brother behind to come here."

Naruto nodded, but his eyes returned to the place where Hinata had vanished. "I just wish that she could have stayed longer… or that I could visit her."

"Tsunade told me why that isn't an option at the moment." Hana noted and Naruto blinked in shock, then looked up at her.

"Really?"

"Parents and burden." Hana confirmed, causing Naruto's eyes to widen, then he sighed again.

"Nii-san's off to be a ninja." He grumbled. "Haku-nii's off as well… this is going to suck."

Hana patted him reassuringly on his shoulder.

"Ruto!" Shizune called and Naruto turned.

"Hai, Shizune-nee?"

"We're running low on meat." Shizune threw a pouch at Hana, who reflexively snagged it out of the air."There's money. Take Hana down to the village and show her round a bit, then be back for tea with the meat. The shopping list is in the purse."

Hana opened the purse and spotted the piece of paper nestled alongside the small wad of notes.

"Sure thing, Shizune-nee!" Naruto replied with a grin. "Let's go!"

Putting deeds to words, Naruto sprinted off at a pace that an Inuzuka Genin would have been proud of. Hana launched herself after him, her three ninken following with excited barks.

.

"Hey, Tsunami-oba!"

The young woman in question looked round, then blinked as her son abandoned her side.

"Doggies!"

"Oh my! Inari, get back here!"

"It's alright." The woman accompanying the blond said reassuringly as Inari glomped the first of the three large dogs with her. "They won't hurt him. I'm Inuzuka Hana and these are my partners, the Haimaru Brothers."

"Fluffy!" Inari exclaimed as he snuggled into the flank of the second ninken.

"I'm so sorry about…" Tsunami began to apologize, only for Hana to shake her head with a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. My three adore children. Ruto here said that your name is Tsunami. Are you Tazuna's daughter?"

"I… yes." Tsunami looked slightly confused.

"I'm a shinobi from Konoha, here to study under Tsunade-sama for a while." Hana supplied, then she chuckled at the sight of Inari attempting to clamber onto one of her ninken's backs, the other two in flanking positions to stop the four-year-old from falling off. "And maybe I should assign my trio to helping out with the school."

"They are quite big…"

"You should see Kuromaru." Naruto exclaimed. "He's _huuuuuuuge_!"

"My mother's partner is almost the size of my three combined." Hana added as she watched Inari bouncing up and down, trying to convince his steed to start running, only to squeal with laughter as one of the other two reared up to lick his face.

"Shizune-oba wants us to get meat." Naruto held up the pouch of money, causing Hana to look in shock at her empty hand.

"How did you…?"

"Kashi-nii-san taught me." Naruto giggled.

.

"That woman has similar markings to you, Zori."

The man being spoken to half-glared at his eyepatch-wearing friend.

"Wrong shape, wrong color, Waraji." he snapped, then he turned his attention back to the woman who was talking to one of their potential targets. "Check out the dogs. I've heard of a clan from Konoha who uses those for battle. Inuzuka."

"An animal's an animal. They'll go down to cold steel just like any other beast." Waraji sneered, one hand caressing the hilt of the katana sheathed by his side.

.

"…so Tou-san's drawing up plans for a bridge to reach _Hi no Kuni_ in his spare time as he thinks it will make trade easier." Tsunami explained as Inari pounced one of the ninken and tried to wrestle him to the ground, only get a face-lick for his efforts. "Tsunade-sama says that it's a brilliant idea which will also make it easier for Hinata-chan to visit."

"'nata's nice!" Inari piped up from underneath the sprawled ninken. "Ruto, help?"

"Coming!"

"Hello there." A new voice spoke from behind Tsunami and Hana looked up and down the new arrival appreciatively, then her gaze settled on the puppy being held in the crook of his well-muscled arm.

"Hello, Kaiza." Tsunami almost purred as she leaned back against the taller man, who smiled down at her, then he looked over at where the Haimaru Brothers had managed to pin Naruto _and_ Inari.

"Do they need rescuing?"

"I can call them off at any time." Hana shrugged, pulling her eyes away from his muscular chest. "They love children. I see you have a puppy there."

"This little chap's called Pochi. A bully tried to steal him from Inari-kun and I got him back. He needed a bit of a brush first. Hey, Inari! Here's Pochi back!"

Kaiza put the puppy down and the white-furred dog instantly bounded forwards, trying to shoulder-barge the ninken off Inari. The ninkin tilted his head at the sight of a puppy far smaller than himself fearlessly attacking, then dramatically fell over sideways in response to the second push, allowing Inari to scramble to his feet.

"I'll save you, Ruto-nii! Pochi, let's do this!"

Hana couldn't stop laughing at the sight of the duo trying to topple a dog that weighed over twice their combined weight.

.

"Gato'll be glad to have a new Kunoichi to play with." Waraji noted as the duo made their way to the edge of town. "Ever since his previous playthings vanished, he's been quite irritable."

"I want to play with that civilian woman." Zori mused. "She looks like she'd do _anything_ to keep her son from harm…"

The two men started to laugh quietly as they left the village to report back to their master. Unnoticed by them, a dark-clad shape with long white hair observed their progress.

.

* * *

.

The dark-haired man rose from the Shogi board and nodded in greeting to the two teens whom his beloved (and slightly troublesome… in a good way) wife had escorted into his study. His son turned to see what had caught his father's attention, then scrambled to his feet.

"Welcome to the Nara Compound. I am Nara Shikaku and this is my son, Shikamaru."

"My name is Yuki Haku and this is my cousin, Senju Kimimaro." The feminine-looking boy bowed as he spoke. "Thank you for agreeing to look after us."

"The honor is mine." Shikaku replied smoothly. "Once you have unpacked, my son will show you around Konoha."

"Troublesome." Shikamaru grumbled.

.

"My little brother is about your age." Kimimaro noted as he strolled down the road and Shikamaru looked up at him curiously.

"Really? What's he like?"

"Energetic." The white-haired teen sighed and Haku laughed.

"Ruto-kun only has two modes. Rush and Sleep."

"That's not fair." Kimimaro protested, his eyes creasing with humor above his mask. "You forgot _Bored_."

"Kamis forbid!" Haku made a warding gesture, then he shrugged. "Rush, Bored and Sleep."

"Sounds like Maito Gai." Shikamaru shuddered. "He's obsessed with his…"

"FLAMES OF YOOOOOUTH!"

Shikamaru sighed, then looked back to find that the two teens were standing back to back in defensive stances, Kimimaro holding a sword that seemed to be made of bone while Haku was holding an odd katana with a transparent blade.

"Huh, Kenjutsu trained?" A nearby purple-haired woman noted.

"What the heck was that yell?" Haku half-whispered, his eyes darting along the roofline.

"That was Maito Gai." Shikimaru sighed. "You get used to him. He's easy to recognize, he's got huge eyebrows, black spiky hair and wears a green jumpsuit. More importantly, where did those swords come from? And what are they made from?"

"More importantly, how well can you use them?" The woman added as she strolled over to them, her eyes assessing the duo.

.

"Tou-san, I'm back." Shikamaru slouched in through the door.

"Where are our guests?" Shikaku asked and Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"A Tokubetsu Jonin called Gekko Hayate was sparring with them, as well as a troublesome woman. I think her name was Yugao."

"I know her." Shikaku nodded. "Her name is Uzuki Yugao. She is skilled with the blade."

"They seemed impressed by Kimimaro and Haku… and their swords." Shikamaru sat down and pondered the Shogi board before sliding one of his pieces forwards. "Bone and Ice."

Shikaku paused as he reached for one of the pawns. "Really? Those sound like _Kekkei Genkai_."

Shikamaru nodded as his father finished his move. "Yeah… Kimimaro can do weird things with his bones. He grew one out of his skin to act as a bracer, allowing him to block a strike. It was kind of freaky."

"That sounds like the blood-limit of the Kaguya clan."Shikaku frowned. "Odd… I didn't know they were related to the Senju…"

.

* * *

.

"Senju Tsunade." Gato mused as he looked down at the large map of Wave spread across the large table, small figurines placed on it. The gimballed lights shifted slightly as the boat rocked at anchor, but there were enough to ensure that his office had no distracting shadows as he finalized his plans. "What do we know about her?"

Gato's secretary, well used to what his employer _really_ wanted to know, shuffled through the sheaf of notes he had assembled prior to the meeting.

"Senju Tsunade, Low to medium S-rank Kunoichi, medical specialization. Regarded as the greatest medical practitioner in the Elemental Nations. Officially a Chunin, although her skills are Jonin level plus. Notable for her precise attacks combined with a technique that boosts her strength to levels which allow her to topple walls in one blow. All in all, _very_ dangerous and with more than enough medical knowledge to counter the usual methods of control."

Gato grunted with displeasure and his secretary quickly flipped to the next sheet he had prepared.

"Her family, on the other hand, are her weak point. Three sons and a niece. The sons are named Kashi, Kimimaro and Ruto. Kashi is the oldest and seems to fulfill a bodyguard role. All signs point to him being a Shinobi himself. The next is Kimimaro, currently learning to be a Shinobi in Konoha. No threat at this time. Ruto is the youngest and there is no real sign of any true Shinobi training. At best, he could be at low Genin level, hence only a threat to those who haven't trained to fight properly. The niece is called Shizune and she does not seem to be a blood relative, but she is also a medical practitioner. Not to Tsunade's level, but quite high."

Gato leaned back in his chair and stroked his chin.

"Allies?"

"Tazuna, notable architect and unofficial leader of Wave, often found sharing drinks with Tsunade. He has a daughter and a grandson."

Gato leaned forwards. "Then _they_ are the key. Grab the kid and we can force him to help us capture the Senjus. Once we have them, we can break the women and sell the men. Several of the other Hidden Villages would pay through the nose to get a Senju and the chance for that wood-style of theirs. Once they've been taken down, Wave will become my personal fiefdom and the ignorant masses will live to serve their true master."

Gato reached out and picked up the small figurine crafted to look like Tsunade.

"Soon… soon you will be mine to command and with the new powders from my allies, you will desire nothing else than to obey me..."

A knock on the door preceded the entry of Waraji and Zori, the latter of whom was holding a rolled-up piece of parchment.

"Recon mission complete, sir." Zori said, placing the parchment on the table and unrolling it to show a hand-drawn map of the village with notes on several of the buildings. "We noted down some of the important places such as the pavilion in the grounds of the Senju mansion that they use as a classroom. If you need a load of hostages, a squad could easily grab the kids, although corralling them could be an issue. Without walls, a few would probably manage to escape…"

"There are two taverns and the main town hall is _here_." Waraji added, pointing at one of the larger buildings. "The Senju mansion doubles as a hospital, there's apparently _loads_ of medicines and medical scrolls there just waiting to be taken."

"Excellent." Gato smirked. "Gentlemen, we move in once my forces arrive. Soon, Wave shall be mine and you will be rewarded with whatever… and _who_ ever you want."

The two swordsmen returned Gato's predatorial grin.

.

* * *

.

Kaiza whistled a tune to himself as he pulled the net back into his boat. While most of the other fishermen preferred to fish during the daytime, Kaiza was quite happy to set out several hours before dawn in order to catch the tide and use the quietness of the nightime ocean to listen for the splashing of the fish.

The net, half-filled with slithering, flapping fish, reached the side of the boat and Kaiza started to pull it aboard, then paused as something on the horizon caught his eye.

Squinting in an attempt to find what had triggered his instincts, Kaiza slowly turned, then he swore as the dawn-light caused several sails to flash. Dropping the net, Kaiza grabbed for the small outboard motor attached to his boat, starting it on the first attempt with a solid yank of the cord. Mentally thanking the elderly fisherman who had let him borrow the motor in exchange for a share of the fish, Kaiza pointed his boat towards the shoreline.

.

"Shit." Waraji sighed as the distant noise of a boat engine made its way over the waves to him. "Someone knows we're coming.

"But against all of us, what can they do?" Zori asked from behind him.

"Change their trousers, most likely." Waraji snickered, then he sighed. "Is the Boss up yet?"

"I saw his secretary take his morning tea to him."

"Guess I'd better tell him that we've probably lost the element of surprise."

"I'll tell the Captain that we need to make more sail." Zori offered.

.

Kaiza's entrance into the semi-sheltered harbor got quite a bit of attention from the few people who had risen just before dawn. The first reason for their attention was the speed that he was moving, his boat riding high enough that it was obvious that he had tossed overboard everything that would have weighed him down.

The second reason was how he had cut so close to the breakwater that his boat had actually taken damage, necessitating significant (and expensive) repairs.

The third reason for attention, however, was how Kaiza directed his boat straight onto the slipway, beaching his boat with a grinding of wood against stone and leaving the engine running as he leapt out.

"Ships incoming!" He shouted. "At least half a dozen in a convoy!"

For a long moment, no-one moved, then Kaiza growled.

"It's Gato! He's invading! Sound the alarm!"

.

"Shit." Tsunade grumbled as the sound of the village's bell pushed her the final step between sleep and wakefulness. "Wasn't expecting that bastard for another week."

Pulling herself out of bed, Tsunade staggered to the wardrobe and opened it to pull out an outfit that looked like her normal clothing, but which had chain-mail between the inner and outer layers.

"My lady?" Shizune appeared at the door and Tsunade nodded as she donned her top.

"I know. Grab Kashi. Let's fetch Jiraiya, then see how much time we have to get a few more people from Konoha."

"Yes, my lady!"

"And tell Haruko to grab Ruto!" Tsunade shouted as Shizune vanished. "I don't want him trying to prove himself by running into a battlefield!"

.

"We're coming into sight now, sir." Zori noted as Gato finished adjusting his jacket. Grabbing his cane, Gato strutted past his bodyguard and made his way up to where the Captain was standing by the Pilot.

"Lord Gato." The Captain bowed deeply and Gato gave a grunt of satisfied acknowledgement.

"Ho the deck!" A voice called down from the crow's nest. "Village in sight, it looks like they're evacuating!"

"What?" Gato growled. "Captain!"

"Shake out another reef on the mainsail and get the other ships to follow suit!" The Captain bellowed and Gato turned to look at the distant village, barely illuminated by the pre-dawn light.

"When I find out who that fisherman was who let them know we were coming, I'll have him killed. Slowly and painfully."

.

* * *

.

From her perch on the top of the village tower, Tsunade watched the approaching ships even as she sipped from the flask she held.

"They've split their forces." Jiraiya noted. "Sails _there_ and _there_. Classic enveloping pincer movement, they're probably planning to surround and move in, catching everyone in a noose that they can tighten as they want."

"Think they could succeed?" Tsunade asked as, far below them, an exhausted Shizune accepted a drink from Tsunami, who had sent Inari along with the teacher to the Senju mansion where they would hopefully be safe.

"If we weren't here, then yes, they could." Jiraiya lifted the telescope to his eye and squinted through it, adjusting the length to bring the distant ships into proper focus. "Shame about the water gap. If there was a bridge or something, we could have entire squads of reinforcements here within a day or two."

Tsunade nodded in agreement, then looked down at the village, where Hyuuga Hizashi and Uchiha Itachi were discussing tactics with the locals.

"Here you are." Tsume noted as she emerged onto the platform, Kuromaru close behind, his toenails clattering on the stone steps.

"Where's Hana?" Jiraiya asked curiously.

"Heading east with Yugao to take out the mercenaries who will land there. There are only two shiploads and she's also taking some of the villagers with her to provide covering fire. We're heading west to take out the other group. I'm looking forwards to getting my claws into some real enemies."

"As long as they don't manage to overwhelm you." Jiraiya stated and Tsume fished out a tri-blade kunai from her jacket.

"I know the drill. If I think I need help, I drop this and get reinforced."

"Never be too proud to call for help." Tsunade noted. "Pride is for Samurai. We are _Shinobi_."

"Yeah, yeah. See you once the screaming's died down."

Jiraiya watched Tsume and her ninken leave, then he shook his head.

"Is it wrong that I believe that she probably won't even need the archers who are going with her?"

Tsunade chuckled, then swiped Jiraiya's telescope so that she could observe the man who threatened her family.

.

"I need to get my stamina up." Shizune grumbled as she accepted a ration bar.

"You helped with _four_ Guard Hiraishin transports." Hayate Gekko noted. "Genma, Raido and Iwashi could only bring two people here without exhausting themselves."

Shizune looked over to where the trio in question were sat outside a tavern, gratefully sipping diluted fruit juice and eating a light snack to help them recover.

"Here's Tsume." Gekko noted with a grin. "Get my lungs healed before they could really affect me _and_ get a chance to fight alongside a Clan Head, raising my profile and helping me get to full Jonin sooner… this is a good day."

"Good luck." Shizune raised her cup slightly in salute and Gekko grinned.

"Thanks. Tsume-sama, I'm ready."

"Then let's go." Tsume barked before vanishing in a blur of motion, Kuromaru and Hayate Gekko close on her heels.

.

The first ship swung into place by the inside of the breakwater and sailors leapt onto the rock wall to secure the ship's hawsers. Even as the gangplank dropped onto the quay, the second ship glided past, heading for the primary dock which was clear, the fishing boats having been pulled up out of the water. As the anchor dropped to slow it down, the third ship approached, aiming for the other side of the dock.

Gato stood at the prow of his ship, watching approvingly as his collection of thugs, murderers, rapists, thieves and poachers used the brief training that they had been given to check that the breakwater was not booby-trapped, then several of them started carrying planks of wood down to build a temporary defensive bulwark at the point where the rocky barricade met the shore.

Although he enjoyed being in position to command his minions in battle, Gato was not stupid enough to be at the head of his army if he didn't know _exactly_ what he was facing.

"Two figures just jumped off the tower over there." Waraji noted. "Moved like shinobi. One of them was pale-haired and wearing a green top, probably Tsunade."

"You have the darts?" Gato asked and Zori nodded. "Excellent. Once all resistance has been crushed, I shall take my time ensuring that her free will is broken too."

.

"Are you certain you can make it there?"

"Shisui's been helping me extend my range. I can make it."

 _Byukugan_ met _Sharingan_ and two restrained yet predatorial smiles were exchanged.

.

The invasion _should_ have gone perfectly. Even as the main force moved in to shatter any efforts at resisting the new order, the two flanking forces had disembarked and were moving in to provide the anvil to the main force's hammer.

The plan made full use of the undisciplined ways of the attackers, the way that they could not be counted upon to hold lines in a disciplined way but were used to traversing through crowded areas at speed, leaving few (if any) traces of their passage for the law enforcement agents to track them by.

They knew where to go, to block the escape routes that the soon-to-be-conquered would most likely take. Poachers and trackers employed by Gato had scouted out the island and provided plans that had been used to direct groups to the points where they could easily intercept travelers.

The invasion _would_ have gone perfectly.

Had not the Shinobi from Konohagakure been waiting for them.

.

"I still think that this is probably overkill." Jiraiya muttered as the red stripes under his eyes expanded.

"We're sending a message." Tsunade cracked her knuckles as she strode forwards, her team-mate following her. "And try to keep the collateral damage down."

Jiraiya grinned as the two Toad Sages perched on his shoulders once again helped him to attain the chakra technique which was the basis of one of his many nicknames.

.

The mob ground to a halt partway into the clearing as the leaders saw a woman standing before them, her long, purple hair blowing in the gentle breeze.

"Hey, babe." One of the dimmer members of the mob leered. "Decided to surrender early, have you? I'll be happy to get to know you… _deeply_."

The lewd thrust of his hips left no doubt as to the subtext of his offer and the woman laughed dismissively.

"I've seen bigger on a chicken."

"You bitch!" the man snarled, only to freeze as several growls echoed from the surrounding trees.

"Oh no," The woman smirked as she unsheathed her sword slowly. "I'm no bitch. Now, my friend, on the other hand…"

The leaders had just enough time to realize that they were in trouble when a quartet of spinning whirlwinds of fangs and claws slammed into them from both sides.

.

Hayate Gekko concentrated on defending Tsume's rear as the Inuzuka, who had merged with her ninken to form a giant two-headed wolf, savaged her way through the would-be attackers.

Already, many of them had chosen to flee, only to be taken down by the villagers waiting in the trees.

As his blade flashed and hewed through the rapidly-falling enemies, Hayate wondered if his girlfriend was also using the opportunity to practice the lethal strokes that they had previously only performed on practice dummies.

.

" _Kaiten_!"

Gato snarled as a dome of chakra catapulted several dozen of his kunai-fodder mercenaries into the air, then he gaped as Tsunade picked up a two-wheeled cart and swung it like a club, sweeping the attackers before her into the water as the third man used a strange technique to deliver a strike that felled almost a dozen, despite his punch missing them. The trio held the end of the pier against his forces and while normally, they would have been soon cut down by the other forces at his command, both of his other primary attacks had stalled. To his left, the army debarking from the fourth boat along the other breakwater was being held in check by a trio of shinobi in green vests, the defenders moving in such harmony with each other that even Gato could tell that they had trained extensively together.

The troops who had debarked from his own ship were doing no better, having been halted by a single white-haired masked shinobi who had demolished their defensive wall with a single blow and proceeded to engage them in a whirling dance of death which seemed to suck in his men and spit out corpses.

"Why are my men _losing_?" He snapped, then he froze as a voice he had never heard before replied to his enraged query.

"They are losing because they are facing Shinobi of Konoha."

Gato spun round, then froze as his two bodyguards collapsed, the kunai lodged in the base of their skulls showing how they had been defeated. Between their bodies stood a black-haired teenager, his eyes seeming to spin with a red and black pattern.

"…who are you?"

"The last person you will ever see." The teenager replied calmly, then the world went black.


	8. Recovery

"Why didn't you let me help?" Naruto grumped. "I wanted to help stop the bad men too."

"It's not that simple, otouto." Kakashi sighed. "These men wanted to really hurt people, even kill them."

"I could have helped to stop them!" Naruto protested and Kakashi wasn't the only one to shake his head.

"Even the smallest was over twice your size." Hizashi noted. "Ruto, you would not have been able to help. In fact, it would have made it harder for us if you had been there."

Naruto gave Hizashi a betrayed look, only for Itachi to chime in.

"He is correct. While I was younger than you when I graduated, it was because of the war, when all shinobi were needed. What I saw… what I had to do… affected me greatly. I witnessed a team-mate being killed by a masked warrior and although he often disagreed with me, I would give my _sharingan_ for him to have not died. My other team-mate resigned after his death, the stress of being a combat kunoichi was more than she could bear.  
"Being a Shinobi is not an easy path, young Ruto. It is only for the skilled, the strong and the determined. You have yet to become truly skilled, although I am certain that you are indeed learning. Your strength will come as you grow and as for your determination… I have seen determination like that before. I can see that you will grow to become a great Shinobi, but you must _grow_ first. If you push too hard, if you try to take on more than you can truly carry, it _will_ break you.  
"I have seen the darkness of the path of the Shinobi. Wait until you accept the Hitai-ate before you seek to fight that darkness yourself."

Everyone stared at the dark-haired shinobi for several moments and the teen shifted slightly under their combined scrutiny.

"Definitely worthy to wear the hat." Hizashi finally announced. "If not now, then soon."

"What hat?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Hat? What did I miss?" Tsunade asked as she entered the room.

.

Tazuna looked at the bodies being heaped onto the carts for disposal after having been stripped down to their underwear in search of anything that was usable. The ninjas had shown no real signs of discomfort as they had stripped the corpses and piled the valuables to one side for sorting and appraisal, then turned their attention to the corpses themselves. One of them had used a technique to open a large crevasse well outside the town, a hole into which the bodies were deposited. He had been informed that once all the bodies were disposed of, another technique would be used to seal the hole, leaving no real trace that the bodies were there.

"We need to seem stronger." He sighed.

"What do you mean?" Kaiza asked curiously and Tazuna paused as he ordered his thoughts.

"Gato tried to take over because he knew that we were an island. If not for Tsunade-sama and her family, we wouldn't have been able to call for any backup in time to help us."

Kaiza remained silent as he waited for the village leader to continue.

"We trade with boats." Tazuna finally stated. "It's one of the sources of our wealth, but now… now I can tell that we need _more_. We need a proper link to the Land of Fire."

"A bridge?" Kaiza prompted and Tazuna nodded.

"I've been sketching out rough plans for the last few years, although I never thought I'd need to actually build it. Now, though… now we _need_ to get a proper bridge up and running."

Kaiza frowned.

"What sort of bridge?"

"Well, it's not like we're going to have to build it while trying to fend off mercenaries and thugs, so something more than a basic pillar bridge would probably be best." Tazuna mused. "An interlocking double-arch-style repeating bridge would look good and be high enough for even our fishing boats to sail under while the roof of such a bridge would allow for stalls and rest-stops to be set up, increasing the attraction of it for traders… make a few alterations and we could include jetties at a couple of the support pillars…"

"Sounds good." Kaiza nodded, then he flexed his arms to show off his biceps. "I'll be happy to help with these two arms!"

"Funding could be a bit of a problem, though…" Tazuna grumbled. "I'm not sure I can raise enough…"

"Why not ask Tsunade-san?"

Tazuna blinked. "Well, I could explain that it would cut down on accidents in the long run. Bridges _are_ safer than boats, after all…"

.

* * *

.

Tsunade smiled as Naruto gazed longingly at a slice of cake before him, then slumped down with a groan of defeat.

"Never thought I'd see him too full for cake." Kakashi joked as he joined Tsunade, handing her a cup. Tsunade took a small sip, then a longer one. "How long do you think before I have to carry him back?"

"I think Shizune has it in hand." Tsunade chuckled as her niece began chivying the sleepy boy to the village hall, where beds had been put up for the children to sleep in while the adults continued celebrating their rescue from imminent slavery.

"The Guard trio have already gone back with Itachi." Kakashi added.

"Which means that right now, the Hokage is getting a mission report from them." Tsunade nodded in understanding. "What do you think of Itachi?"

"…Driven." Kakashi finally offered. "Loyal to Konoha. Skilled. Dislikes killing, but will do it if he deems it necessary. Once he's got used to being in charge, he's got the potential to be as good as Sensei was."

"That matches with my reading of him." Tsunade paused as she took another sip. "He's going to be a good Hokage. Far better than I could ever have been."

Kakashi gave her a quizzical look and she chuckled.

"You didn't know? Sensei was planning to select _me_ to be the Godaime, assuming I managed to crawl out of my Sake bottle. Not that he had much choice. If he were still alive, Danzo would have had us fighting the other four Villages within a year, a battle we couldn't win. Jiraiya…" Tsunade looked over to where Tazuna and Jiraiya were matching each other drink for drink while singing a song which she was willing to bet _seemed_ innocent to the unwary, but was filled with double meanings and innuendo. "I think Konoha's Kunoichis would have had him assassinated within a fortnight. Sooner if he followed through on his joke of making the hot springs mixed-gender. And for obvious reasons, my other team-mate is out of the running… wherever the bastard is..."

Kakashi nodded in agreement and despite his mask, his disapproval for the Snake Sannin seemed almost tangible.

"Did Tazuna catch up with you earlier, my lady?" Shizune asked as she joined them.

"He did." Tsunade confirmed. "He's pulling some of his old plans out of storage tomorrow and…"

"My lady?" Shizune asked as Tsunade began to smile.

"Naruto's been complaining that his exercises are getting boring, yes?"

"…yes?" Kakashi prompted, his voice indicating that he was unsure about whether or not whatever Tsunade had planned would actually be a good idea.

"Maybe he can help carry some of the tools to where the bridge is going to be built." Tsunade suggested."As well as giving him a good workout, it'll also give him a better insight into how non-shinobi live."

"He'll hate you once he realizes what you are doing." Kakashi's eye crinkled into a smile.

Tsunade opened her mouth to reply, then paused as Hizashi appeared.

"Tsunade-sama." He bowed in greeting. "I was hoping to speak with you about my niece's next visit."

Tsunade lifted an eyebrow, then glanced round. "Should we move somewhere quieter?"

"It will not take long." Hizashi shrugged. "I was wondering about the technique that the three of you have demonstrated."

"The Guard Hiraishin?" Tsunade asked curiously. "I thought that one as highly placed as you would already be read in on it…"

"I am." Hizashi confirmed. "It is more the fact that the three of you are _capable_ of performing it."

Tsunade gave him a long look. "You are building towards something. I can tell."

"Perceptive of you." Hizashi nodded in acknowledgement. "It has occurred to me that should you allow me to take one of the tags or kunai which you use for this technique back to Konoha to be placed in a special room in the Hyuuga Clan-hold, it would make it easier and safer for Hinata to visit."

Tsunade smirked. "And it would just so happen to save the Hyuuga clan the regular C-rank cost associated with each visit, hmmm?"

"Lady Tsunade!" Hizashi looked horrified. "How could you _possibly_ suggest that something so plebeian as mere _finance_ could have even the slightest bearing upon the decisions and philosophies of one of the oldest and most noble clans of Konohagakure?"

Tsunade burst out laughing and Shizune had to catch the dropped cup as Tsunade leaned against the nearby wall. After several moments, her laughter ended and she wiped her eyes. "Okay, that was funny."

"I have no idea what you mean, my lady." Hizashi protested in an overly-innocent tone, causing Tsunade to struggle not to break out laughing again.

"And people claim that the Hyuuga have no sense of humor." Kakashi deadpanned.

"They also state that our expressions are as solid as a cliff and our hearts are made of stone." Hizashi added. "Sometimes, I think that we are taken for _granite_."

That pun was enough to push Tsunade back over the edge and her laughter rang out over the festivities again.

.

* * *

.

"…and we returned so that I could give you this report." Itachi finished, ignoring how his father and Hyuuga Hiashi were paying close attention to his words from their position to one side of the Hokage's desk. "Hyuuga Hizashi and Inuzuka Tsume will be starting their journeys back tomorrow and should be here within three days. Inuzuka Hana is staying behind to continue her studies until the end of Hiashi-sama's daughter's next journey to visit the Senju family."

"Thank you, Jonin Uchiha." Hiruzen said formally. "Be seated."

Itachi bowed, then sat down in the chair that one of the ANBU guards had placed next to him. As he settled into it, he watched his father and his co-Adviser out of the corner of his eye.

"Are there any questions?" He prompted and the two men looked at each other, then Fugaku inclined his head to indicate that Hiashi could begin.

"I am interested by the mention of plans for a bridge connecting the lands of Fire and Wave. From what you have heard, is such a thing possible?"

"Tazuna-san mentioned in conversation that he had several potential plans." Itachi replied after quickly checking his memories of what he had overheard in Wave. "It is my personal opinion that he would not have said plans if he had not already performed at least a preliminary survey of the waters between _Hi no Kuni_ and _Nami no Kuni_. The local fishermen report that the waters are rather variable in depth, ranging from a mere three feet at low tide to several fathoms. If he knows where the shallows are, then a bridge would be quite possible."

Hiashi nodded thoughtfully. "I do believe that if Konoha itself does not invest in said bridge, the Hyuuga clan will do so. The income from tolls would be most welcome as a stable income stream in the long run."

"The Uchiha clan will invest as well." Fugaku agreed. "Bridges almost always boost trade, so long as some existed in the first place. In addition, having a bridge would cut not only response times by at least half a day, it would allow for larger troop movements than boats would allow, even at the cost of some tactical flexibility."

"All good points." Hiruzen agreed. "Should the plans for a bridge prove fruitful, Konoha will invest in its construction. This will not preclude individual clans also investing."

A brief aura of smugness seemed to radiate from both clan-heads and Hiruzen hid a slight smile under a veneer of contemplation.

"Out of interest, who is the current Daimyo of Wave?" Fugaku mused.

"They haven't had a Daimyo for several generations." Itachi supplied before Hiruzen had a chance to leaf through the relevant folder on his desk for the answer. "The closest that they have to a leader is Tazuna-san due to the high regard that they hold him in and the fact that Tsunade-sama has stated publicly that should they try to place her in charge, she will use them to demonstrate why _Iryonin_ should be feared in combat."

Fugaku started coughing and Hiruzen found himself unable to hide his wry smile.

"A thought occurs to me." Hiashi offered after his co-Adviser had recovered. "If I remember correctly, Tsunade-sama once attempted to initiate a Combat _Iryonin_ program, yes?"

Hiruzen nodded, curious to see where Hiashi was going.

"Perhaps we could arrange for those Academy students with high _Iryonin_ potential to spend a few months in Wave, studying under her." Hiashi continued. "Similar options could be advanced to non-team Genin and to any Chunin who might seek to advance their skills in that particular field."

"It would also help to stabilize the area further, reducing the potential support for bandits and pirates. Transporting said students could be folded into escort missions as well, thus reducing costs while allowing for more field experience to be accumulated relatively safely." Fugaku noted. "I am impressed, Hiashi. That idea has my support."

"Maybe I should retract it, then." Hiashi snarked, causing Fugaku to roll his eyes.

.

* * *

.

"Nii-san! Haku-san!" Naruto glomped into Kimimaro with an impact that would have flattened an unprepared Shinobi, then disengaged to repeat the process with a laughing Haku. "Oh! Hi, Hinata-chan!"

"Hello, Ruto-kun." Hinata smiled from where she was standing beside Gekko Hayate who was watching with a crooked smile.

Naruto released his older brother and almost teleported across to catch Hinata in a hug that left her smiling widely, albeit also blushing.

"How long are you staying?" Naruto continued eagerly, then he tilted his head slightly. "I remember you! You helped to protect us from that Gato-person! You… you're… you're…"

"Gekko Hayate." Haku stage-whispered, earning a look somewhere between gratitude and annoyance from the masked blond. "He's our Jonin-Sensei. We're his first team."

"Three more years till I get to join a team of my own." Naruto sighed, then he brightened up. "But when I do, I'll prove how awesome I am!"

The final figure shifted and Naruto looked at the grey-haired black-eyed boy curiously.

"Senju Ruto, be known to Genin Eda Shin of Konoha. Shin, this is my otouto Ruto."

"I can see the family resemblance." The new teenager joked, earning a confused look.

"But we're wearing masks…"

"Exactly."

Hinata giggled at the deadpan reply.

"So you said you're a genin team?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Team Kenshi, reporting in." Kimimaro reached out to ruffle Naruto's hair, earning a wordless protest.

"And yet strangely, _I'm_ the only genin with a proper sword." Shin added drolly, motioning to the hilt poking up over his right shoulder.

"And yet strangely, _you_ haven't won a single sparring match against either of us." Haku responded with exactly the same tone, causing Shin to pout.

"Sensei, they're being mean to me again."

Naruto couldn't hold back his laughter any more.

.

"…this looks just like the one in the Hyuuga compound." Shin noted as he followed his two team-mates up the staircase into the tree-house.

"That one is a copy of this one." Haku explained as he placed his bedroll on his usual bunk, then he held out a hand to stop Shin. "Not that one. That one's Kashi's when he's out here."

"Oh." Shin seemed nonplussed. "Any others I should avoid using?"

"That one's Hinata-chan's and that one is Ruto's." Kimimaro pointed out the two bunks in question before finishing unrolling his own bedroll, then he looked round with his eyes creased in a smile. "I always liked sleeping out here."

"Although having Ruto wake us up at sunrise by jumping on us could be annoying." Haku added, earning a nod of agreement while Shin looked between the two in confusion.

"So, where is Kashi? I've been hoping to see if he's anything like you describe." Shin finally asked and Kimimaro shrugged.

"He's doing a mission for Konoha, according to Kaa-san." Kimimaro adjusted the pillow on his bed. "It should take a few days, but we should still be here when he returns."

"Long enough for Tsunade-sama to give you a checkup." Haku noted as he knelt down to arrange the sticks in the stove. "Hey, can you light this for me?"

"You really do have a problem with _katon_ jutsu, don't you?" Shin smirked as Haku moved aside to let him get to the stove.

" _Hyoton_."

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

Shin spat a small fireball into the stove, then moved away as Haku took over, closing the front of the stove and placing the kettle on top to boil.

"Coming up!"

The call was followed by a pile of folded bedding rising through the trapdoor, a pile being carried by Ruto while Hinata followed closely, a pillow in her arms. Kimimaro snagged the bedding and unrolled it in a single movement, letting it fall perfectly on Hinata's bunk.

"Thank you, Kimimaro-san." Hinata gave the white-haired teen a small bow.

"You are welcome, Hinata-chan." Kimimaro replied, giving her a small bow in return.

"You've got a Shogi set here!" Shin held up one of the pieces, then frowned. "What is this made of? It doesn't feel like wood… or stone…"

"Kimimaro made the pieces." Haku supplied as he prepared the teapot, carefully not looking in Shin's direction. "You're holding one of his bones."

Shin froze, his face twisting as he stared at the piece in his hand, then he carefully replaced it in the case before backing away.

"What's the problem?" Naruto asked, confused. "Kimi-nii makes _loads_ of things from his bones."

"I… don't know how to respond." Shin finally admitted. "I mean, you using your bones as swords is one thing, but this? I… I have no words."

.

"I see your lungs are still healthy." Tsunade noted as she took a sip from her saucer of Sake and Hayate smiled.

"Yugao is very appreciative of my stamina."

"You two finally got together?" Shizune asked and Hayate nodded.

"She often helps train my team. If I have other duties, she takes over as leader."

"And how are your students doing?" Tsunade gently probed, earning an amused glance.

"You specifically mean your two, don't you?"

Tsunade shrugged, not bothering to deny it.

"They're very good." Hayate waved his empty saucer to emphasize his point. "They're working on including their _Kekkei Genkai_ s into their styles. Kimimaro's getting good at surprise attacks with blades from various points on his body while Haku's been researching one-handed hand-seals so that he can integrate his _hyoton_ jutsu with his _kenjutsu_ techniques."

"Sounds promising." Tsunade noted. "I think we have a few ice techniques in the library that Haku hasn't studied yet and I know that there are a few scrolls that Kimimaro still hasn't read. If you give them time, they can copy the scrolls to take with them."

"Shin is starting to feel left behind." Hayate admitted. "It's not really obvious yet, but…"

Tsunade frowned. "That could lead to issues in the long run. Have you considered getting him interested in an additional field? Extra tracking abilities could be useful in the field…"

"Your two already have that covered." Hayate sighed.

Tsunade paused. "Ah. Yes, I suppose they would, given how they kept going camping with Kashi. _Iryonin_ is probably not a good path for him for the same reason… Genjutsu, perhaps?"

"…possibly." Hayate mused. "I don't know that much genjutsu myself, though…"

"Chunin Yuhi Kurenai could help there." Tsunade pointed out. "She's an expert in genjutsu and it would give her some teaching experience, helping her make Jonin faster in turn."

"Sounds promising." Hayate noted.

"I'd suggest getting Yugao to approach her." Shizune added diffidently. "You don't want her to risk thinking that you're looking for a replacement… or an _addition_ …"

Hayate shuddered. "Good point. Rule one of any relationship. Never piss off your partner, they know where you sleep."

Tsunade managed to not laugh until she had managed to put down her Sake.

.

* * *

.

The dawn chorus woke Shin from his sleep and he sat up, looking around as his memory slowly informed him as to where he was. Looking round, he noted that his team-mates were also awake with Haku in the middle of donning his sandals while Kimimaro was pulling on his sleeveless and shoulder-less top which allowed him to pull out his weaponized bones (something that Shin was _still_ getting used to).

Shin opened his mouth, only for both Haku and Kimimaro to glare at him, before glancing at the beds where Ruto and Hinata were still asleep. Nodding in acknowledgement, Shin slipped off his bed and followed their example in pulling on his tunic and sandals before following them out of the tree-house.

"Are they light sleepers?" He half-whispered once Haku had quietly closed the trapdoor behind them.

"Otouto could sleep through almost anything." Kimimaro rolled his eyes. "About the only thing that'll always wake him is a hand on his shoulder. I'm not sure about Hinata… Haku?"

"I don't think she sleeps as deeply as Ruto-kun, but I could be wrong." Haku admitted.

"So… why are we up so early?" Shin asked, causing the other two to pause and stare at him. "What?"

"You don't get up early to do your katas?" Haku asked in disbelief.

"Oh hell." Shin grumbled. "No wonder I'm falling behind. I've been slacking off compared to you two, haven't I?"

.

As Naruto woke up, the sounds of steel, bone and ice clashing slowly made its way into his consciousness. An instant later, his bed was empty and he was stood beside Hinata, looking out at the trio sparring in the garden.

"Go Nii-san!" Naruto cheered as Kimimaro did a spinning block which deflected Haku's blade into the path of Shin's attack.

"They're amazing." Hinata breathed and Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, they are. I'm still learning Chakra Control and basic taijutsu at the moment…"

"Chakra control?" Hinata blinked. "Like the leaf exercise?"

"I can do a dozen leaves at once." Naruto shook his head. "I'm doing tree-walking now. It's hard, but I'm getting better!"

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Hinata asked quietly and Naruto blinked.

"Sure… but… you're at the Academy… haven't they taught it to you yet?"

Hinata shook her head.

"Huh. Weird… Hey, I'm hungry. Want breakfast?"

"Yes please." Hinata smiled.

.

"You do it like this." Naruto lay down on the ground and put his feet against a tree. "You push chakra into the tree and use it to hold on. Too little and you slip, too much and it causes the tree to break. See how much it takes to get your feet to just stick."

Hinata positioned herself by the next tree and placed her sandal-clad feet against the trunk. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the feeling of her Chakra circulating inside her, then she began pushing it down towards her feet.

"When you think you have it, try to pull your foot away." Naruto offered and Hinata nodded, flexing her right leg. Her foot seemed to be stuck as if in mud, then it suddenly came free. Putting it back against the tree, Hinata resumed the exercise. After several more attempts, her foot remained anchored to the tree.

"Once you've go the chakra flow right, do it to just one foot while you take a step with the other, then get the flow going again." Naruto supplied and Hinata cut the chakra flow to her right foot, sliding it up the tree before locking on again.

"It gets hard now, you have to use some of your chakra to help your muscles as you move up the tree."

Hinata opened her eyes to see Naruto looking down at her from his position halfway to the lowest branch, standing sideways on the tree. Tensing, she adjusted the angle of her legs, then pushed herself off the ground with a grunt of effort. A few seconds later, she slumped back onto the earth, panting for breath.

"It kinda feels impossible for the first few times." Naruto shrugged. "It took me several months to get as good as I am now."

"I won't fail!" Hinata whispered to herself as she gathered her strength and concentration for another attempt.

.

"…what happened?" Haruko asked as Naruto entered the dining room, an exhausted and grass-stained Hinata slumped over his back.

"Tree-walking." Naruto paused by the table so that Haruko could help him maneuver Hinata onto one of the chairs. The tired girl tried to help, but her efforts only slowed them down a bit.

"What's for lunch?" Naruto asked as he moved to where the mats and crockery were stored. Pulling out some of the rolled-up bamboo place-mats, he paused. "And who's joining us?"

"Tsunade-sama is dealing with a complicated operation." Haruko noted as she began serving up. "Shizune is in town and mentioned that she would be eating there, Kashi went with her."

"Just us?" Naruto unrolled the first mat in front of Hinata and Haruko nodded with a smile.

"That's right. Did you wash your hands?"

Hinata groaned as Naruto sighed, causing Haruko to laugh.

"Not funny, Haruko-oba." Naruto grumbled as he slung Hinata's arm over his shoulders in preparation for helping her reach the sink.


	9. Desert

"Ready?" Tsunade asked and Naruto nodded as he held up a scroll.

"Got my stuff!"

"Good." Tsunade corralled the excitable ten-year-old and started moving him to the stairs. "Shizune and Kashi are waiting."

"I'm gonna see nii-san and Haku-nii fighting!" Naruto bounced excitedly, then he sagged. "I wish Hinata could come…"

"She has her own things that she needs to do." Tsunade pointed out, then she smirked. "It's not like you're not going to see her every day soon."

Naruto blushed slightly.

" _Kaa-saaaaaaaaan_!"

"Are you teasing my little brother again?" Kakashi teased from the bottom of the stairs.

"Of course." Tsunade's smirk became smugger. "It's a mother's duty to embarrass her children, after all."

Naruto pouted as he came to a stop and the three adults arranged themselves around him. Reaching out, they linked fingers and Tsunade nodded.

"Ready?"

"Ready!"/"Ready, my lady!"

For an instant almost too short to experience yet which simultaneously seemed somehow to echo eternally, the entire world blinked out from around the quartet, then re-formed around them in a glare of brightness which forced Naruto to throw an arm over his eyes as he blinked furiously in an attempt to adjust to the blinding light.

"Kaa-san, Kashi-nii, Ruto-kun, Shizune-san." Kimimaro said in greeting from where he was standing nearby.

"Kimimaro-kun." Tsunade caught her adopted son in a hug, then held him out at arms length and gave him a long look before turning to his companion. "Haku-kun."

"Tsunade-san." Haku bowed slightly before finding himself in a hug as well.

"I'm impressed you made it to the finals, given the handicap you're under." Tsunade noted, giving a meaningful look at the hot, dry desert surrounding them.

"The strength-technique that you taught us helped considerably." Haku admitted. "Did you bring what I asked for?"

"Four entire storage scrolls filled with water." Tsunade pulled out the scrolls in question and handed them over to the grateful genin. "I have to ask, _four_? You only have three fights, if I remember correctly…"

"And the third will be against me." Kimimaro added.

"You have a _single_ match before you face me." Haku noted.

"Yes, but it's against a _ninjutsu_ specialist." Kimimaro countered. "One that has _three_ elements."

Kakashi tilted his head. "Three?"

"Earth, water and lightning." Kimimaro confirmed. "I _don't_ think he's actually a Kekkei-Genkai user, but to have managed to develop three elements while still only a _genin_ …"

"Sounds like he's a shoo-in for Chunin." Tsunade admitted. "Even if he loses, having three elemental affinities would be a considerable advantage."

"The lightning aspect could be somewhat problematic in close quarters." Kimimaro admitted. "Fortunately, I do have distance options available."

"Yeah, Hinata was wierded out the first time that she saw you firing your finger-bones." Naruto chuckled.

"The _iryojutsu_ Kaa-san helped me develop makes it almost painless." Kimimaro noted calmly. "Cleaner, too."

Haku nodded in agreement.

"So, where are we staying tonight?" Tsunade asked as they began heading towards the large wall that marked the boundary of Sunagakure. "And did Shin make it through?"

"I'm up against him second." Haku shrugged. "He's been boasting that now he's got his _genjutsu_ almost integrated into his style, he'll pass without any problems."

"He is quite annoying to battle when he is using it." Kimimaro had an expression somewhere between aggravated and impressed. "He doesn't have anywhere near the jutsu library or reach of Kurenai-san, but his _genjutsu_ make it very hard to keep track of his blade. He can make it look like he's doing a totally different strike from the one he is actually performing."

"A Jonin named Maito Gai made a suggestion which works, though." Haku supplied, missing how Kakashi almost stumbled at the name. "As long as we keep track of his feet, it gives us a good idea of what he is actually doing."

"…makes sense." Kakashi mused. "The stronger the strike, the more solid the base needed."

"Quite." Kimimaro agreed.

"So, who are you fighting first?" Shizune probed.

"A wind-type Suna shinobi." Haku shrugged. "Apparently she's the daughter of the Kazekage and it's her first try."

"Doesn't the Kazekage have _three_ children? Shouldn't she have entered with the other two?"

"It was a temporary team." Haku clarified. "This Temari is _just_ old enough to participate and the other two entering the exam had temporarily lost their third team-mate to pregnancy."

"…maybe I should offer to provide a check-up." Tsunade pondered as they reached the gap in the wall which gave access to the village itself.

"Name and purpose?" A veiled shinobi asked and Tsunade looked at Shizune, who presented a sheaf of papers.

"Senju family here to watch Team Tenshi in the finals." Shizune supplied as the shinobi leafed through the sheets, then handed them back.

"You are free to enter." He stated. "Please head to the Desert Flower Hotel. Do you wish a guide?"

"I've been here before." Tsunade stated calmly. "Straight down the main road past the statue, turn left at the inner wall and it's on the left."

"…yes." The Shinobi agreed, obviously slightly disconcerted. "That's right…"

"Left." Tsunade corrected impishly.

"You always have to be… _correct_ , don't you?" A voice spoke from behind Tsunade and she turned to see the Hokage smiling at her.

"Eyebrows!"

Tsunade blinked at Naruto's exclamation, then turned her attention to the duo flanking Hiruzen. One of them was a familiar kunoichi with purple hair while the other was a man dressed in a green spandex jumpsuit, over which he had a jonin vest. His black hair was arranged in spikes while his eyebrows were distractingly large.

"I don't believe you have met Maito Gai." Hiruzen nodded to the grinning man, whose grin somehow widened, though his eyes kept flicking across to Naruto and Kakashi. "He is the premiere taijutsu expert in Konoha and I am contemplating giving him a team soon."

"I have already found a very promising student to train in the ways of combat!" Gai declaimed happily.

"...you are clear to enter."

Tsunade glanced across at the security desk where the swordswoman was retrieving the papers she had presented for inspection.

"Sensei's going to be very happy tomorrow morning." Haku stage-whispered, causing Tsunade to clap her hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter.

.

"So, I believe that Yugao-chan knows everyone." Hiruzen noted as they strolled past the statue of the Shodaime Kazekage. "So, Maito Gai, these are Senju Tsunade and her family. Her sons Kashi and Ruto, Kimimaro's brothers, and her niece Shizune."

"It is a great honor to make your acquaintances!" Gai declaimed, his teeth glinting in the sunshine, although he had a slight air of bemusement that only strengthened every time that he looked at Kakashi.

"And I believe that young Ruto will be attending the Academy once it restarts?"

"Yep!" Naruto nodded eagerly, then he frowned. "Not sure where I'll be staying, though."

"With the money we've been earning plus Kaa-san's support, Haku and I have moved out from the Nara's guest lodge into a three-bedroom apartment." Kimimaro supplied. "We've been setting up the third bedroom for you… including the textbooks that we used to catch up."

Naruto stumbled. "Catch… up?"

"While we were far ahead with the _combat-oriented_ and _chakra-usage_ portions of coursework, when it came to things like history and infiltration, we were somewhat behind." Haku shrugged. "It took quite a bit of study to catch up."

Naruto's expression switched from curious to pained, causing Hiruzen to quickly muffle his laughter.

"I'm sure Hinata will offer to help you catch up." Tsunade said calmly, although laughter danced in her eyes.

"'nata-chan's _awesome_." Naruto stated firmly.

"She is currently in the running for Rookie Of The Year." Hiruzen smirked as Naruto's wide smile returned. "She's in a three-way fight for the title at the moment, the other two being Uchiha Sasuke, the little brother of my apprentice and Haruno Sakura, a girl whose parents are the first shinobi in their respective families."

"Long history versus newly risen." Tsunade mused. "It'll be interesting to see what happens."

"As long as Hinata and I are on the same team, it doesn't matter." Naruto declared, causing the two oldest members of the group to look away from each other lest eye-contact cause their self-control to fail and their laughter escape.

"I believe you said we should turn left here." Shizune said in a valiant effort to change the subject.

"I can see the standard outside the hotel." Tsunade agreed.

.

* * *

.

"This place is _dry_." Naruto grumbled as he squirmed in his seat, glancing over at the area where the Kazekage and Hokage were sat, each flanked by a duo of guards. In Hiruzen's case, Yugao had been swapped out for Tsunade at the latter's request and behind Naruto, Hayate and Yugao sat leaning against each other, taking it in turns to drink from the bottle of diluted fruit juice that they had unsealed from a storage scroll. "I'm bored. When does Haku fight?"

"Soon." Kakashi handed Naruto a fruity-oat bar and the young blond bit into it eagerly. "There they are."

"Three Konoha Shinobi versus three Suna shinobi." Yugao noted. "We trained them well."

"We did." Hayate agreed as the six Chunin-wannabes formed a line in front of the robed Suna Jonin waiting in the middle of the arena. The noise of the crowd dropped as the Kazekage stood up and moved to the front of the Kage Box.

"We are here today to witness the skills and potential of the six before us as they compete for the right to become Chunin in the service of their villages.  
"Let them fight with honor and skill."

With his brief speech over, the Kazekage returned to his seat and the man in the middle of the field began speaking, his voice echoing from the loudspeakers arranged around the edge of the stadium.

"My name is Tojuro and I am the proctor for the third stage of the Chunin Exam. While you are here, my word is law. You will fight when I tell you to fight, stop when I tell you to stop and take no actions otherwise unless I give permission."

The six remained motionless and Tojuro gave a sharp nod.

"That man is a _taijutsu_ practitioner." Gai noted from beside Hiruzen. "The way that he stands, how he moves, the slight curling of his fingers… I would say that he is highly skilled in the _Fist of the swirling sands_ , a style used by Suna shinobi with a _futon_ affinity."

Rasa stared at the oddly-clad Jonin in shock. "…how?"

"He's right." One of Rasa's guards admitted. "Tojuro-san is known for his _taijutsu_ skills."

.

Naruto turned his attention back to the field as four of the six Genin started making their way to the Genin's waiting area, allowing them to watch and wait for their own chance to demonstrate their skills.

"Go Haku-nii!" Naruto whispered.

"Very close family friend." Kakashi supplied in response to a Suna ninja's questioning look. "His mother, Yuki Haruko, is a civilian medic. She is not a shinobi, but she has learned most of the non-combat _Iryonin_ techniques and skills from Tsunade-kaa-san, making her equal to high-chunin or even Tokubetsu Jonin in matters relating to surgery."

Naruto ignored the comment as, on the sands below, Haku used his belt-gourd to supply the water for his usual ice-sword while his other hand plucked a scroll from the back of his belt, gripping it so that a single move would cause it to unroll. His opponent, who was clad in a pale violet thigh-length top with black shorts and fishnet armor underneath, simply unslung her weapon from her back, holding it at one end.

.

"That's a battle-fan." Hiruzen mused. "She's a _futon_ user… and probably a specialist in _tessenjutsu_."

"But only with that weapon." Gai added. "She does not carry any secondary fans and from her stance, that fan that she uses is metal-sheathed and uses reinforced fabric, probably woven with wire to boost its protective properties and enhance the amplification effect of her jutsu. Look at her hands. The level of precision she shows is not high enough for her to have mastered the one-handed tessens in addition to her primary… no, her _solo_ weapon. If her fan is damaged or removed from her grasp, her combat skills will be significantly impaired."

Rasa stared at Gai in shock, then his eyes snapped back to the arena as a voice echoed over the loudspeakers.

"Yuki Haku of Wave for Konoha and Temari of Suna, _fight_!"

As soon as the command was given, Haku accelerated sideways, allowing the scroll to unroll in his wake. Temari froze for an instant, her mouth half-open as she stood caught by surprise, then she unfolded her fan as she turned to follow Haku's movements, a smirk forming on her face.

"You should have tried to close the distance." She sneered as she drew her fan back. "Prepare to b- _bluuurgh!_ "

Temari staggered back as the unrolled scroll suddenly began disgorging its stored water, the pressure making the scroll whip round Haku before it impacted Temari. Her reflexive use of sand-walking to anchor herself backfired when the water-spewing scroll wrapped around her, trapping her in the middle of the fountain until she managed a small swing of her fan to unleash a cutting blade of air.

.

"…bad move." Tsunade winced, earning a curious glance from the Kazekage.

.

The breaking of the inscribed seals caused all the water that was still within to explode outwards, hurling a drenched Temari into the air as the water expanded in a rapidly-fragmenting sphere. Haku crouched as the wave-front crashed over him, then Temari crashed down with a massive splash before dragging herself to her feet, the roiling water lapping almost to her knees as it slowly spread across the arena. As she brushed her now-untamed soaking hair out of her face to allow her to see again, Haku stood up, the only sign that he had been caught in the unexpected deluge being a smattering of droplets on his clothing.

"You… you… you!" She sputtered as she re-opened her fan, showing that the inner part had a purple circle on it, then she opened it to its full extent, revealing two more. Taking a stance, she swung her fan up in preparation for unleashing an attack, only to slip over and land on her back, feet pointing up as laughter rose from the watchers. Growling, she scrambled up to one knee, then swung her fan to unleash a blast of wind-blades. Haku watched the attack approaching, then simply fell backwards, vanishing under the surface of the now ankle-deep water.

"What the…?" Temari gaped at the rippled surface that was far too shallow to have allowed her adversary to seek shelter in it. "How the…?"

Managing to regain her feet, Temari managed to adjust herself so that she was finally standing _on_ the water. Fan held ready to block or strike, she made her way to where Haku had vanished and looked down in confusion.

.

"…shouldn't the water have soaked into the sand by now?" The Kazekage mused and Tsunade grinned in recognition of what was about to happen.

.

Temari used her folded fan to poke at the area where Haku had vanished, then jumped back as a slab of ice slowly grew out of the water, finally stopping its growth when it was as tall as she was. Another seven slabs rose around the arena, then Haku's image formed on one of them before Haku stepped out, totally unruffled.

"I would advise you to surrender." Haku suggested and Temari growled.

"To hell with that!"

As she swung her fan to unleash another attack, Haku stepped back into the ice sheet. The air-blast slammed into it, leaving it slightly scratched but otherwise unscathed, scratches which filled in within seconds.

" _Very well. You were given a chance."_ Haku's voice echoed as he appeared in all eight slabs. Temari spun round, obviously trying to figure out which one was real, then she let out a yell of pain as a senbon pierced her thigh. Reaching to pull it out, she staggered as her other thigh was impaled, then senbon seemed to appear in her arms, causing her to drop her fan. As she staggered back, Haku suddenly erupted from the water at her feet, delivering a jumping knee-strike to her chin that sent her flying backwards and following up with an aborted strike which ended with him holding the point of his ice-sword to her jugular.

"Proctor?" Haku prompted and Tojuro nodded.

"Temari of Suna is incapable of continuing to fight. Victory goes to Haku of Wave."

As Tojuro spoke, Haku used a one-handed seal to cause a stream of water to leap into his belt-flask, then the ice mirrors shattered and the water started to soak into the sand of the arena, vanishing completely even before the med-nin team could reach the dazed and groaning Temari with their stretcher.

.

"He covered the whole arena with ice to keep the water from being sucked away!" Naruto realized with awe. "Haku-nii's _awesome_!"

.

"A layer of ice… that _would_ explain why the water didn't soak away until _after_ the fight." Rasa stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You have some very impressive candidates here, Hiruzen."

"Thank you." The Hokage responded calmly to his counterpart's comment. "I only wish I could take all the credit. It was Tsunade who oversaw the majority of his training, though. Your thoughts, Tsunade?"

"I noticed that Temari has specialized in _futon_ techniques and _tessenjutsu_." Tsunade noted. "In fact, she seems to have possibly _over_ specialized in them, becoming a _glass kunai_."

"A… _glass kunai_?" Rasa repeated slowly.

"Nice reference." Hiruzen noted as the sand started drying off in the sunlight. "It's a reference to something my… _former_ student came up with. Kunai made of obsidian glass. Far sharper than a normal kunai and the way it was formed gave it better aerodynamics, but if you tried to use it for anything other than cutting or piercing, it had an unfortunate tendency to shatter, leaving the user with a handful of glass shards."

"I see the parallels." Rasa admitted sourly. "Temari shall receive the appropriate instruction. I shall see to that personally."

In front of them, Tojuro straightened up from where he had been poking at the sand and nodded to the area where the Genin were waiting for their turns.

"The next match is between Eda Shin and Yaoki." Tojuro's voice echoed across the arena and the two genin in question quickly made their way to stand in front of him, Shin absently stroking the hilt of his sword while his opponent took a stance, unslinging a pair of man-sized wrapped packages and placing them upright on the ground, one hand atop each one as the displaced sand rippled around his feet.

.

"He's a Puppeteer." Hayate noted. "Now, the question is, which of the three is he?"

Naruto tilted his head. "What? But… he's holding the two things, right?"

"That's probably a puppet _disguised_ as him." Yugao remarked, glancing at her boyfriend who nodded in agreement. "He's probably in one of the two packages… unless he's counting on Shin to _think_ that he's replaced himself with a puppet…"

"My head's hurting." Naruto grumbled. "Why can't things be simple?"

"Because being simple means that others can predict you and if they can predict you, they can take advantage." Hayate stated, then he paused. "Ah, here we go."

.

Tojuro raised his arm, then swung it down. "Eda Shin of Konoha and Yaoki of Suna, Fight!"

The sand seemed to explode from under Shin's feet as he sprinted forwards, his sword unsheathing in a blur. Even as it descended like a thunderbolt, Yaoki pushed the packages away from himself and swung up both arms to block the blade.

.

"Puppet." Hayate confirmed.

.

The blade dug into the raised arms with a wooden _thunk_ as the chest of the puppet masquerading as its puppeteer sprang open, unleashing a spray of senbon…  
…when went straight through the smirking Shin before he faded away.

.

"What?!" Rasa lunged to his feet and Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.

"It would seem that both your shinobi and mine are adept at trickery."

.

The _genjutsu_ cover fading away, the puppet swung round, then the two packages exploded in smoke, the obstruction clearing away to reveal two more Yaokis. The two shinobi and one puppet moved into a triangular formation, the puppet ready to fire more senbon while the two shinobi held kunai in one hand ready to block while the other hand twitched, obviously controlling the puppet.

.

"Which one's him?" Naruto stared in confusion at the scene before him.

.

For a long moment, the arena and its occupants remained motionless, then Shin rippled into visibility, delivering a strike aimed at the Yaoki on the left. Even as the targeted shinobi moved to block, a _second_ Shin appeared and stabbed at the one on the right, who flinched backwards in an attempt to dodge. Both Shins dissipated as a _third_ Shin rippled into visibility crouched between the duo, his blade arcing up to slice across the right-side Yaoki's torso. Fabric flew, then the blade caught on wood as the puppet spun halfway round, showing that its waist was a turntable, unleashing a spray of Senbon which caught Shin in his back.

.

"He was impatient." Haku sighed.

"I do not believe that any of those three are the true Yaoki." Kimimaro mused, earning a bemused look from his team-mate.

.

"Winner, Yaoki." Tojuro confirmed. "What poison did you use?"

In reply, the senbon-launching puppet produced a vial and handed it to Tojuro, who sniffed it, then held it to Shin's mouth. The Puppeteer and his two puppets moved away from their fallen adversary, then were engulfed in another cloud of smoke. When it cleared, it was to reveal Yaoki standing with two bundles on his back once more.

.

"Show-off." Naruto grumbled.

.

"My turn." Kimimaro smirked as he moved towards the stairs leading down to the arena, stepping aside at the bottom to let Yaoki and his baggage past.

"Senju Kimimaro of Wave for Konoha and Shindan of Suna!" Tojuro called and Kimimaro strode forwards, his right hand rising to his shoulder. The sound of sand crunching behind him marked the approach of his adversary and Kimimaro came to a halt in front of the Proctor, allowing Shindan to catch up. Glancing sideways, he watched the Suna Genin seem to relax, although a brief glitter around his hands showed that he was preparing something.

"Prepare." Tojuro prompted and Kimimaro _flexed_ his power, growing a bone-sword up through his shoulder, extruding it so that he could grab the hilt as it emerged and using the _iryojutsu_ that Tsunade and Shizune had helped his natural regeneration restore his muscle and skin.

"That. Is. _Disgusting_." Shindan's face reflected his words and tone as the hole in Kimimaro's shoulder finished healing.

"It is _useful_." Kimimaro countered as he adjusted his grip slightly on his bone katana.

"Senju Kimimaro of Konoha and Shindan of Suna, _fight_!"

Kimimaro accelerated forwards, the tip of his sword striking at Shindan like a serpent, only to be halted by a metal barrier apparently formed out of nowhere. Evan as it rang with the impact, Kimimaro leapt backwards, avoiding the spike that suddenly jutted out from it.

.

"A cousin of yours, I assume?" Hiruzen asked as he watched the _Jiton_ -using Genin and Rasa nodded.

"His mother was my aunt."

.

"Magnet release." Kimimaro noted as he covertly extruded a bone kunai into his free hand. "Against almost any other Shinobi, you would have a significant advantage, able to detect and control their weapons."

Shindan didn't reply, but more metal dust billowed out from his sleeves, forming blades and shuriken in the air around him. Kimimaro started circling the Suna shinobi, then his hand moved in a fast throw. Shindan barely managed to react in time, but the thrown kunai still left a streak of blood along his cheek.

"You rely on your power." Kimimaro continued. "You have trained with it extensively… just like Temari with her fan."

.

"Point." Hiruzen noted.

"Agreed." Rasa growled.

.

"I am one of the worst match-ups you could have." Kimimaro stopped circling and dropped into a low stance, blade angled back. "So… let us _dance_!"

Even as he finished, Kimimaro lunged forwards, his blade dancing as he swept the flying weapons out of his way. Shindan tried to retreat, but Kimimaro was too fast and Shindan folded over Kimimaro's blade before the bone-user disengaged.

"Metal armor underneath." Kimimaro gave Shindan a nod of respect. "And quite strong, as well."

"My defense is absolute." Shindan growled as the metal crept out from under his clothing, slowly encasing him until he looked like a moving statue.

"But your skill is limited." Kimimaro countered, then he moved in again. This time, there were less weapons to slow him down and Shindan was sent flying backwards by a powerful spinning kick to his chest, a glittering of metal sparkles tracing his trajectory. Managing to turn his landing into a roll, he countered with a metal spear projected from the palm of his hand, a spear which struck Kimimaro in the stomach before breaking.

"…how?"

The brief paralysis of shock was enough and Kimimaro struck at him with a one-handed rising slash that lifted him off the ground even as his other hand reached for the back of his neck.

.

"Dammit, Kimi." Haku closed his eyes.

.

"Gross!" Naruto gasped in awe as he watched wide-eyed.

.

Rasa stared in shock and Hiruzen's pipe hit the ground.

"Spare spine." Tsunade commented with an air of _seen it all before_.

.

The whip formed from spinal discs lashed out and wrapped around Shindan's leg, then Kimimaro discarded his katana in favor of a two-handed grip, spinning round to slam Shindan into the ground like a meteor hammer, then using the rebound to repeat the move. On the fifth impact, Shindan's metal cover was left behind and Kimimaro nodded in satisfaction as the Suna shinobi flopped onto the sand in front of the astonished Proctor.

"I believe that this means that I win." Kimimaro noted as he coiled up his spinal whip and Tojuro nodded jerkily.

.

"I'm going to have to fight _that_?" Yaoki groaned, earning a glower from Haku.

.

Kimimaro took a final sip from the seal-inscribed flask of milk, reveling in the coolness of the white liquid as Haku stood by his side, looking out over the railing.

"I still can't believe you did that." Haku grumbled. "You know that it freaks me out when you pull your spine out like that."

"But now you know I can't do it when I'm fighting you." Kimimaro placed his flask against his belt and triggered the storage seal. "It takes me a while to regrow it."

To one side, Yaoki glanced at the spinal whip that Kimimaro had slung around himself in a manner similar to a bandoleer and made a face.

"It is time for the penultimate match!" Tojuro called out from the arena. "Could Yuki Haku and Yaoki please come down?"

"Good luck." Kimimaro offered as Yaoki vanished down the stairs and Haku grinned at him.

"Thanks. See you in the next match."

Kimimaro chuckled as Haku vanished into the stairwell.

.

"Are you ready?" Tojuro asked and Haku nodded, as did Yaoki, who once again had apparently taken his stance with the two bundles, sand settling around his feet. Haku flipped open his water-flask pulled out the water within, forming it into an ice-sword.

"Yuki Haku of Wave for Konoha and Yaoki of Suna, _fight_!"

Even as Tojuro finished speaking, Haku pulled the rest of the water out of his hip-flask, forming it into an ice-wall even as Yaoki seemed to explode, launching hundreds of senbon at him. Using the shelter granted by the ice-wall, Haku pulled out the second scroll he had been given and unfurled it with a flick of his wrist, activating it to create a semi-aquatic battlefield once more.

The bandages on the bundles Yaoki's puppet had been supporting seemed to shred as they disgorged their contents and Haku quickly summoned a second wall, this one curved, to protect him as all three puppets blurred outwards, one of them catapulting itself high into the air, in order to try and catch him in an enfilade.

.

"What the… they're _all_ puppets?" Yugao gasped.

"Where's the puppeteer?" Hayate wondered.

.

As the wave of water bounced off the edge of the arena, Haku dropped below the surface, reappearing on the far side as the puppets tried to close in on his old position. Several seconds passed, then two of the puppets collapsed while the third angled back down to its starting point, firing senbon and exploding tags which bounced off the rapidly-regenerating dome centered over the point where Yaoki had started from. A blast of water shattered the puppet and Haku strolled forwards, touching the dome and rendering it transparent to reveal a weakly-struggling Yaoki inside, a sand-colored cloak floating away from him and showing how he had tried to conceal himself.

.

"What an idiot." Tsunade sighed and both Kages nodded in agreement.

.

Tojuro's hands flashed and Yaoki nodded frantically.

"Yaoki surrenders. Yuki Haku wins. You can release him now."

The dome shattered and as the water drained away, Yaoki gasped for air.

.

"That was fast." Naruto blinked, then he threw his arms up in celebration. "Go Haku-nii!"

"Explains how he beat Shin." Shizune noted. "He hid in the sand and let everyone think that one of the puppets was him."

"That's cheating!" Naruto protested.

"Only because he got caught."

Naruto pouted.

.

"Do you wish to rest before the final match?" Tojuro asked quietly as the bedraggled Yaoki exited, dragging the sack containing his puppets behind him and Haku shook his head even as he flipped the top of the now-refilled hip-flask shut.

"No. Hey, Kimimaro! Ready?"

Kimimaro nodded, then vanished into the stairwell. A few seconds later he emerged into the arena, one hand resting on the bone katana thrust through his belt. Reaching the waiting duo, he bowed to Haku, who bowed in return, then unsheathed his blade even as Haku got into his own defensive stance.

""Yuki Haku of Wave for Konoha and Senju Kimimaro of Wave for Konoha, _fight_!"

Even before the last word had finished being shouted, the blades of ice and bone collided, then began flickering as the duo began trying to outmaneuver each other, probing for any weakness or unexpected advantage.

.

"They are both extremely skilled." Rasa noted unwillingly.

"They are also highly skilled in _taijutsu_ and integrate it into their style." Gai observed as Kimimaro was sent sliding backwards by a spinning kick which was followed by a rising slash that he deflected. "Both of them know each others moves almost as well as they know their own."

"They are both a tribute to their teachers." Hiruzen agreed. " _All_ of them."

Tsunade's expression didn't even twitch, yet she somehow radiated an aura of smugness.

.

"You've been seeking out extra training." Haku's voice was un-strained despite the fact that his sword was blurring through the air to counter Kimimaro's bone blade.

"As have you." Kimimaro sounded unruffled as he slowly gave ground, his movements making it clear that he was retreating because he chose to, rather than being forced to by Haku's blurring attacks. "Although I have not studied it myself, I recognize the style you have added to ours. It is the _Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu_ style, is it not?"

"It is indeed." Haku agreed as Kimimaro switched to a more balletic style which forced him onto the defensive. "And I see that you have studied the scrolls of the _Shinmeiryuu_ style."

"I found them interesting." Kimimaro admitted as he performed a powerful leaping attack which Haku barely avoided, but which left a small trench in the ground from the impact.

Haku responded with a series of fast thrusts designed to unbalance the target, finishing with a swipe aimed at the knee with the intent of cutting one of the tendons. Instead, the blade bounced off and Haku groaned.

"Bone armor?"

"Bone armor." Kimimaro nodded before unleashing his own attack, his blade almost but not quite hitting Haku, then the duo leapt away from each other and paused.

"Do we reveal our better techniques in front of everyone?" Haku asked and Kimimaro glanced round.

"I have some techniques which I wish to keep secret a while yet. I am content with reaching the final match."

"As do I and as am I, but we do need to decide a winner somehow." Haku shrugged as Kimimaro rested his blade over one shoulder.

"Then, shall we?"

Haku grinned. "Oh, the audience is going to _hate_ this."

Kimimaro's grin was just as evil. "So? Let's do it."

" _Jan-ken-pon_!"

.

* * *

.

"I still can't believe that you did that." Tsunade chuckled as she caught Haku and Kimimaro in a big hug. "You did wonderfully, but you ended the fight with a rock-paper-kunai game?"

"It seemed appropriate?" Kimimaro offered meekly, causing Tsunade to laugh again.

"I agree." Hiruzen noted with a smirk. "Haku, Kimimaro, when you return to Konoha, you will find your chunin vests waiting. Shin, I'm sorry, but…"

Shin nodded, looking downcast. "Yeah, I didn't think my attack through."

"To be fair, _I_ didn't realize that Yaoki used _three_ puppets until I felt him trying to break through my ice so that he could breath." Haku admitted.

"But you adapted." Hiruzen pointed out. "You were able to capitalize on the unexpected, a vital skill for any shinobi."

"Making it look like you planned it is even moreso." Tsunade pointed out.

"True." Hiruzen agreed, then he turned to the other shinobi.

"Gai, you keep young Ruto safe until Tsunade returns for him, then bring the team back to Konoha."

"Understood, Lord Hokage!" Gai saluted as Tsunade motioned for Shizune and Kakashi to join her.

"I'll see you back at Konoha." Hiruzen said before they vanished.

"Well, I must say that…" Gai paused as a young voice spoke from behind them.

"Mother says that there's a fox here…"

"…oooooh crap." Naruto whispered, slowly turning to see a red-haired boy glaring at them. The boy was dressed in dark robes while a large, sand-colored gourd was attached to his back by a red sash.

"Who is that?" Haku asked quietly.

"Which of you is the fox?" The boy demanded coldly, then his eyes fixated on Naruto.

"Run!" Everyone looked across to see a Shinobi waving at them. "The Kazekage's on his way! Run!"

The red-headed boy snarled, then his gourd exploded into a wave of sand that raced towards Naruto. Moving fast, Kimimaro grabbed his younger brother and hurled him to Haku even as the sand engulfed him.

"Nii-san!" Naruto's eyes widened in horror as the sand suddenly compacted. "You killed him!"

Haku dropped Naruto with a yelp as red chakra began leaking from him and Naruto snarled, even as he made hand-signs.

"Great breakthrough!"

The blast of wind scoured the sand in front of him, slamming it into the red-haired boy and hurling him high into the air, but also revealing the bone-encrusted form of Kimimaru.

"…Kimi-nii?" Naruto gasped as Kimimaro's bones retracted and he turned to look at them, a wry smile on his rapidly-healing face.

"That was… unpleasant."

"What happened?" Tsunade demanded and Gai managed to tear his gaze off Naruto.

"I think… you need to get him out of here. Now." The green-clad jonin stated. "And I need to go speak to the Hokage. We're moving out!"

.

"That was interesting."

" **Leader will wish to know that we were in error about the nine-tails."**

"Yes, he will."

.

"Gaara? What happened?"

The red-haired boy being spoken to slowly pulled himself out of the huge pile of sand he had reflexively gathered and deployed to cushion his landing.

"Mother is… angry."

Rasa flexed his fingers as golden dust began trickling from his sleeves.

"Mother wants blood!"

From the walls of Suna, dozens of Shinobi watches as fountains of sand warred with fountains of golden dust.

"At least he's outside the village this time." Remarked a Jonin who had half of his face covered with a veil.

.

"What happened?" Tsunade demanded as soon as she, Shizune, Kakashi and Naruto reappeared in the Senju mansion.

"A boy my age tried to kill Kimimaro-nii." Naruto slurred as he wobbled slightly. "I got angry… that wind jutsu works, Kashi-nii…"

Shizune caught Naruto as he collapsed and Tsunade began a diagnostic jutsu, then her eyes widened.

"That… that chakra residue… he tapped into the Kyuubi!"

Kakashi's eye widened. "What!?"

"What wind jutsu?" Shizune asked curiously and Kakashi looked embarrassed.

"Well, I started him on elemental training as he's a wind-element… I thought it would be good for him to have a few unexpected jutsu to hand…"

"What next?" Tsunade grumbled. "The _Rasengan_?"

Kakashi blinked. "…that would certainly help with his chakra control given that it's pure shape manipulation…"

Tsunade shook her head as she picked Naruto up. "He's already recovering, by tomorrow morning he'll be fine."

Both Kakashi and Shizune breathed out in relief.

.

The dark cavern was illuminated only by the light of the chakra silhouettes.

"Are you certain about this?"

"We are. **It was the Kyuubi.** "

"How is that possible?" Asked a third figure in confusion. "The Kyuubi was confirmed to have died thanks to Danzo."

"Danzo must have faked the Kyuubi host's demise." The first figure mused, its eyes opening to reveal that they were multiple rings of concentric circles. "I did not expect him to persuade Tsunade to participate, though…"

"That may not have been what happened." A fourth figure offered, earning the full attention of the other figures. "I will need to double-check with my sources in Konoha and Wave, but I can see a potential way that it could have happened. We know that Danzo wished to have a Jinchuuriki as a weapon he could use, but if someone came across his plan and decided to hijack it…"

"Kakashi…" A fifth figure whispered and Orochimaru nodded.

"Correct, Tobi. As an ANBU, he would have access to the secret ways and could have overheard enough to learn what was going on. My guess would be that he discovered the substitution and pursued the kidnappers, catching them at the Valley of the End. He fought them there, then after destroying their bodies, he left the decoy body behind and took the host with him to Tsunade to be raised as a Konoha shinobi _outside_ Konoha. Ingenious."

"Can we confirm this?" The first figure asked and Orochimaru shrugged.

"Maybe. I've been working on-and-off on getting the _Edo Tensai_ technique working… there are issues with stabilization. Give me another year and I can probably briefly resurrect Danzo and question him, although it will have to be done quickly. I doubt he will remain manifest for more than an hour or so…"

"Use your other sources first." The first figure commanded.

"By you will, Leader-sama."


	10. Stances

Naruto looked up at the Senju mansion, feeling a number of emotions that he had no clue as to how to interpret. His ruminations were interrupted by his mother ruffling his hair.

"Kaa-san!" He protested as he ducked out and Tsunade laughed.

"Are you fully packed?"

Naruto pulled the scroll out of his belt-holster and held it up so that she could see.

"Shizune? Kashi?"

The duo rose from where they had been sat on a nearby bench, Shizune pouting slightly as she was forced to stop leaning against Kakashi.

"Nervous?" Kakashi asked, understanding filling his voice and Naruto shook his head.

"No!"

"Naruto…" Kakashi dropped to one knee so that he could look Naruto in the eye. "It's alright to be slightly nervous. You're moving to a new place. Konoha is a big place, even bigger than Suna. There will be loads of new people, some of whom will want to be your friends, others who will declare themselves your rivals. Many will simply ignore you as they are wrapped up in their own lives and worries.  
"You are heading out on your first true mission, to learn the remaining skills you need in order to become a Shinobi of Konoha, like your birth parents were. Kimimaro and Haku will be there to guide you and I'm sure that Hinata will be by your side, ready to help however she can."

Naruto paused, a look of understanding dawning on his face.

"In Konoha, you will learn the final lessons that we cannot teach you here." Kakashi continued gently. "You will learn about the other clans of Konoha, exactly what they can do, their strengths and weaknesses. You will learn how to be part of a team, how to lead and how to follow as well as when you should do either one. You will make new friends and find rivals who will help you to be better as they compete against you.  
"And when the time comes and you earn the Hat, I will be there to bow to you and congratulate you."

Naruto felt his eyes fill up as Kakashi finished, then he hugged his adoptive brother.

"You'll do fine." Kakashi whispered into his little brother's ear. "I'll pop by to see how you're doing and I'm sure Tsunade and Shizune will as well. And once you've got your control up high enough, we'll teach you the first way of using the _Hiraishin_ , just like we taught Kimimaro."

"And Haku?" Naruto asked, only for the adults to look at each other.

"Haku is learning the Guard version." Tsunade replied. "There are… _legal_ reasons why teaching him either of the other two versions is not ideal, but with his ice mirrors? It's not like he _really_ needs it."

"And when _you_ learn the Guard version, the three of you can come and visit whenever you want." Kakashi pointed out.

"Can Hinata learn too?" Naruto asked plaintively and again the three adults exchanged glances.

"I… think that would be a good idea." Tsunade finally decided. "Yes, once you have learned the Guard version, you can teach it to Hinata-chan as well."

Naruto grinned widely, his earlier tears forgotten. "Awesome!"

.

Hinata stood as close to her father as she could as they waited in the Hokage's Office. Nearby, Uchiha Fugaku relaxed (as much as he could, his spine still made a Kunai look soft and floppy by comparison) in his chair while Hiruzen and Itachi sat behind their respective desks, Itachi reading a scroll while Hiruzen questioned him on the contents. Suddenly, a group of four seemed to blur into existence in the middle of the room and Hinata smiled as she saw the familiar blond hair between the three adults.

"Ah, Tsunade, Shizune, Kashi. Welcome." Hiruzen smiled as Itachi rolled up the scroll and caused it to vanish. "And you must be Ruto-kun… as is confirmed by Hinata-chan's expression."

Hinata felt herself blush furiously, but she stepped forwards as Shizune and Kashi moved aside to let her join her best friend.

"H… hello, Ruto-kun… _eep_!"

Hinata found herself caught up in a hug and from the corner of her eye, she caught the slight twitch of her father's mouth that for anyone else, would have been a full belly-laugh.

"It's great to see you, Hinata-chan!" Ruto swung her round before lowering her back onto the floor and letting her regain her balance.

"Ah, the joy and innocence of youth." Hiruzen sighed, causing Hinata to blush even harder. "Speaking of youth, Itachi?"

"Hai?" The teenager in question looked at Hiruzen.

"If you would be so kind as to get young Ruto-kun registered for the Academy?"

"Of course, sir." Itachi rose from behind his desk and motioned to the door. "If you will come with me?"

Tsunade nodded in response to Naruto's questioning glance.

.

"Did you bring it?" Hiruzen prompted and Tsunade nodded at Shizune, who produced a small sealing scroll. A moment later, a small barrel was sat on Hiruzen's desk, along with a dipper and several glasses that had the symbol of the leaf embossed on the sides as well as the symbols of various clans.

"The glasses are a gift from Tazuna, made by a glassmaker who fled from the Land of Water due to his _Kekkei Genkai_." Tsunade noted. "Also the bridge will be completed and officially opened in another month, Tazuna was hoping that you would come to the ceremony."

"I would be honored." Hiruzen noted as Shizune opened the barrel and used the dipper to start filling the glasses, handing the first one to Hiruzen, who took a small sip and smiled. "Delicious."

"Haruko's special blend." Tsunade accepted a glass herself. "She uses her _hyoton_ to chill the juice in order to preserve it better and bring out the flavor."

Fugaku accepted his own glass and gave the Uchiha fan on it an appreciative look before taking a sip. His eyebrows shot up and he held up the glass so that he could give it a closer inspection.

"Haruko has been experimenting again, I see." Hiashi noted blandly before taking another sip. "I detect a trace of… lemongrass?"

Tsunade nodded. "Very good."

"You have had it before?" Fugaku asked.

"Every time I accompany my daughter to Wave, or go to retrieve her."

Fugaku took another sip of his own drink. "I see. Should she mass-produce this drink, I would certainly place a regular order for it."

Hiruzen finished his drink and made to hand the glass back, only for Tsunade to shake her head.

"The glasses are a gift from Wave in recognition of the bonds developing between Wave and Konoha."

"I shall treasure it." Hiruzen smiled as he placed the glass down, then gave Fugaku a warning look. The Uchiha clan-head placed his own glass down, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

"So, Itachi will be back soon, having helped the son of the Yondaime register…"

Fugaku jolted so hard that he fell off his chair. Hiashi carefully kept his face blank as his co-Adviser picked himself up off the floor.

"…I'm sorry. I must have mis-heard you…"

"You did not." Hiruzen replied, hiding his own smile. "You have just met Senju Ruto, also known as Namikaze Naruto, son of Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato and Jonin Uzumaki Kushina. Tsunade adopted him as part of the plan to keep him safe… a plan which also included recruiting your own son to become the Godaime once his training is complete."

During the explanation, Fugaku had picked up his drink and used it to hide his shifting expressions.

"You cannot claim that your clan has lost out." Hiashi remarked. "After all, not one Hyuuga has ever been in the running to be Hokage and your own _son_ will soon be wearing the Hat."

"I know." Fugaku sighed. "It's just… how long have you known?"

"Several years." Hiashi admitted. "If it's any consolation, I was quite startled when I found out myself."

Fugaku gave Hiashi a sideways glance, then held out his empty glass.

"Although normally, Sake would be called for in a moment like this, I do not believe that alcohol would be conducive to helping me think this through. As such, if you would not mind?"

Tsunade accepted the glass and refilled it.

.

Naruto looked round with wide eyes as he followed Itachi through the corridors of the tower, Hinata holding his hand and occasionally giggling as she watched him.

"This place is _cool_!"

"I am glad that you think so." Itachi replied, glancing back to the duo. "Just so that you know, Ruto-san, it is very likely that you will be in the same class as Hinata-san…"

"AWESOME!" Naruto bounced in excitement while Hinata giggled as she tried to calm him down.

"...and my younger brother." Itachi continued. "He and Hinata are currently competing for the position of Rookie of the Year. Perhaps you can provide him with even more competition."

Naruto blinked. "Huh? Wouldn't it be better for him if there was _less_ competition?"

"The strongest metals are forged in the fires of adversity." Itachi quoted. "It is best to find one's limits when competing against friends and allies rather than discovering them when fighting against enemies."

"…that makes sense." Naruto agreed. "Friends will help you find ways to correct problems, enemies will try to use them against you."

"I see that you understand." Itachi gave a slight nod of approval.

"I'm the youngest brother and my Kaa-san is _Senju Tsunade_." Naruto pointed out. "They made sure that I actually _thought_ about things before leaping in. The number of stories Kashi-nii has about how not thinking or paying attention got him into trouble…"

"You have to look underneath the surface to know what is going on." Itachi agreed.

"We're _shinobi_." Naruto shot back. "We have to look _underneath_ the underneath."

Itachi almost tripped as the sentence registered.

.

"Haku-san!" Hinata called and the dark-haired swordsman rose from the swing he had been sat on, tucking a book into one of the pockets of his chunin vest as he did so.

"Hello, Hinata-chan." Haku smiled. "Ruto-kun. Finished enrolling yet?"

Naruto nodded and Haku looked at Itachi curiously.

"I leave them in your care, Haku-san."

"Of course." Haku replied and Itachi vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"So, let's get you settled into your room, then we can have a meal." Haku suggested before glancing at Hinata. "Do you wish to join us?"

Hinata nodded. "Tou-san knows I'll be with Ruto."

"This way, then." Haku turned and led them out of the Academy grounds, allowing Naruto to finally see Konoha proper. To Haku's amusement, Naruto's eyes grew wide as he finally realized just how much larger Konoha was than the village which he called home.

"Make sure you memorize the route." Haku warned. "It's easy to get lost if you don't pay attention."

Naruto nodded slowly. "Yeah… the map is one thing, but this… this is… wow."

"Fortunately, you have a few days to explore." Haku reassured the younger boy. "I'm certain that Hinata will be happy to show you the important places and with the Hokage's Tower being visible from almost everywhere, you can easily get to it if you do lose your way."

This time, it was Hinata who nodded eagerly.

.

From a classroom window, one of the teachers of the Academy watched the group leave through the main gateway, a small smirk on his face.

"Orochimaru-sama will pay a lot of money for details on that boy." He whispered to himself. "If I do my job well enough, he'll take me to his Hidden Village where I can finally be a Jonin… as I _deserve_ to be."

.

"This is _our_ home?" Naruto gasped as he looked around the living room and Haku nodded.

"It is indeed. The kitchen and dining area are through that archway while that corridor there leads to the bedrooms and the bathing area. Your bedroom is the third one and…"

Haku broke off as Naruto charged down the corridor, almost dragging Hinata behind him. Shaking his head in amusement, Haku ambled after them, reaching the door in time to see Naruto testing his bed by jumping onto it.

"You can unpack later." Haku's comment caused both children to look at him. "By now, you must be hungry. There's a good place I know of which sells a very nice Ramen."

"Ichiraku's?" Hinata asked and Haku nodded. "Ruto, I think you'll like it."

Naruto somersaulted off the bed with a huge grin.

"Yay! Let's go!"

.

Naruto lay in his bed, head whirling at the long-awaited adventure he was on. At last, he was part of a true Shinobi force, just like his brothers Kashi, Kimimaro and Haku (who was a brother to him despite not being related), his mother and his cousin Shizune.

And within a week, he would be able to prove his worthiness, protecting the innocent, fighting bandits and rescuing royalty.

With a huge smile on his face, Naruto fell asleep.

.

* * *

_._

"Naruto?"

"Coming!" Naruto called as he ran towards the front door where Hinata was waiting, struggling to attach the strap of his katana's sheath to his belt.

"You've got it wrong." Hinata sighed as she plucked the recalcitrant strap from Naruto's hands. "Turn around."

Naruto obeyed Hinata's instructions and she sighed.

"You needed to loop the strap _before_ attaching it to the belt."

Blushing, Naruto retreated long enough to detach the strap, loop the top end through the buckle and slide his belt through the end metal loop so that it sat almost over his spine. When he buckled his belt and adjusted the strap, the sword sat perfectly with the hilt poking up over his right shoulder, ready for him to unsheathe and strike in a single movement.

"I don't think you'll need your sword today." Hinata pointed out and Naruto unsheathed it, holding it out for her to look at.

"It's a training sword." Naruto explained, turning it slightly so that Hinata could see that it's edge was blunted. "It's got the same weight and balance as a proper Katana, but as you can see, the edge is rounded off. This way, I can practise my katas and get used to carrying it without risking cutting my own feet off or something like that. I still need to get that growth spurt Kaa-san said I'd get, I _don't_ want to get called _stumpy_ too."

Hinata giggled at Naruto's deadpan comment, then pointed to his sandals.

"We need to get going or you'll be late for your first day."

"Right!" Naruto grabbed his first sandal and donned it, then picked up the other one to put on as well. Hinata winced as Naruto promptly failed to keep his balance.

"I'm okay!"

.

Umino Iruka looked at the class in front of him with a sense of pride. Of the seven classes which the original shinobi-hopefuls had joined, only enough students remained for two classes, the rest having been winnowed out for reasons ranging from lack of physical capability to an inability to follow instructions which would prove fatal in the field, if not for themselves than for those who they were deployed with.

Those who remained had proven themselves to have the potential to be great shinobi (as had those in the other class) and Iruka intended to win the unofficial competition between teachers for the most graduates able to reach Chunin.

Glancing down at his noted, Iruka clapped his hands for silence, his eyes taking in the new empty seat beside Hinata, who was glancing at the door eagerly. Hiding a smile, Iruka let his gaze travel over the students arrayed before him before speaking.

"Welcome back. Today marks the start of your final year in learning to become a Shinobi of Konoha. It also marks the arrival of a new arrival, one who has studied independently and is now joining your ranks. Enter!"

The door slid open and the blond boy who had been waiting outside stepped in. Moving to stand beside the desk, he turned to face the watching children and bowed.

Iruka's eyebrow twitched as Ino let out a squeak, blushing furiously as she stared hungrily at the boy. Sat beside her, Sakura reacted in a similar fashion, although in a quieter way.

"Please introduce yourself." Iruka prompted and the boy nodded.

"My name is Senju Ruto, the youngest son of Senju Tsunade. I have been trained in many of the ways of the Shinobi of the Leaf and I hope to complete my education here, proving myself worthy of wearing a Hitai-ate. My older brothers Kashi and Kimimaro, as well as my brother in all but blood Haku, are already taking missions for Konoha and I look forwards to the day when I can stand by their side, my sword ready to strike with theirs."

"So coool!" Ino squeaked.

"An excellent introduction, Ruto." Iruka noted. "I believe you know Hinata. You can sit by her."

Ino and Sakura both looked shocked as Ruto moved to sit next to the beaming Hyuuga.

"Now, let us begin by summarizing what we have learned so far…" Iruka began.

.

"…is every day like this?" Naruto's question was almost a complaint as they left the classroom to have lunch and Hinata nodded, causing him to groan.

"What? how does knowing the name of the third shinobi from the left in some old pictures help in the field? It's not like we could defeat an enemy through throwing names at them."

"For one, it helps in countering infiltration attempts." A new voice offered as a black-haired boy joined them. "It gives us more information to draw upon in order to counter those trying to deceive us. Uchiha Sasuke, at your service. My older brother will soon be Hokage."

"Itachi!" Naruto clicked his fingers. "I've met him. He helped Kaa-san defeat a man called Gato who was trying to enslave all of Wave."

"Nii-san told me about that mission." Sasuke confirmed. "He also described the treehouse. Hinata-san was kind enough to let me see the one in the Hyuuga compound. It was apparently built by the same people and to the same plan?"

"Tazuna-san made the plans and oversaw them both." Naruto confirmed. "He's awesome. He designed the bridge which is being built between Wave and Fire… I helped with it!"

"You did?" Hinata blinked, then glanced at Sasuke who also seemed surprised by the fact that they had both asked the question at the same time.

"Yeah." Naruto's smile was tinged with remembered irritation. "Kaa-san decided that since I was getting bored with my normal exercises, so she decided that I could help with moving tools and lumber and stuff. I tell you, I got _loads_ of chakra-control exercise running across the water to deliver buckets of nails and stuff to the workers as they put the footings in place."

"…you _ran across the water_?" Sasuke repeated and Naruto nodded.

"Yeah. It was easier when they got the beams up, I could run along those instead, although kaa-san insisted that I ran along the sides or underneath instead of the top…"

Sasuke stared at the masked blond in shock, then turned his gaze to Hinata who nodded.

"He taught me how to tree-walk as well."

"Any chance you could teach me too?" Sasuke asked. "It sounds very useful."

"Can you teach me as well?" Ino asked as she almost seemed to teleport behind Naruto and started to throw her arms around his shoulders, only to find herself being yanked away and flipped onto the floor.

"Yamanaka-san, I trust that you are not seeking to try and seduce my fiancee?" Hinata asked in a cold tone and Sasuke's eyebrows rose.

"Huh, so you're _that_ Ruto…"

"Ino, are you being troublesome again?" A voice yawned as a skinny brown-haired boy ambled up. "Nice throw, by the way. I see that you're going to study Kenjutsu, just like your brothers."

Naruto looked at him curiously, then the description he had been given suddenly snapped into focus.

"You must be Nara Shikamaru! My brothers told me about you!"

The lazy genius raised a quizzical eyebrow.

.

* * *

.

"I see that someone gave you a team, Gai." The voice noted and the black-haired taijutsu specialist froze, almost unable to believe his ears.

"…kakashi?"

"Yo." Kakashi dropped out of the tree and ambled towards the flabbergasted Jonin. "Nice hairstyle."

Gai reached up to stroke the spiky hair. "I… I adopted it in memory of you… although I see that I should have grown it longer and placed it in a ponytail instead. It does explain why I failed to recognize you back at the Suna Exams, though."

"Did you say something?"

For a long moment, the two men remained motionless, ignoring the quizzical looks that the three genin were giving them, then suddenly Gai was embracing the newcomer.

"Gai! Air!"

Gai let Kakashi fall back to the ground and stepped back, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears. "My eternal rival! You have finally returned to Konoha! I assume you were on a deep cover mission which required you to fake your death?"

"I was… and it is classified."

Gai caught the glance that Kakashi gave his team and didn't hesitate."Three laps around Konoha. Go!"

Even as the trio vanished, Kakashi made several hand-signs and a slight rippling surrounded them.

"A distortion technique." Gai noted.

"You made a deduction." Kakashi prompted and Gai nodded.

"I have. Senju Ruto is obviously the lost son of the Yondaime."

Kakashi blinked. "That… is quite the deduction."

"It is only logical." Gai shrugged. "I do not know how his death was framed, but from how you didn't say farewell, it was obviously an unplanned mission. Using the corpse of a child to fake the boy's death was rather cold, though…"

"Danzo."

Gai nodded as the single word clarified the situation for him.

"I see. He planned to seize the Yondaime's son and you took advantage of his plan to snatch his prize out of his hands." Gai tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I assume that encountering Tsunade-sama was mere happenstance?"

Kakashi nodded, impressed despite himself.

"The I understand and although it hurts me that you did not let me know before now as to your survival, I agree that doing anything other than what you did would have left young Ruto in mortal jeopardy." Gai reached out and clapped Kakashi on his shoulder. "It is great to see you again, my rival."

"Good to see you again too, Gai." Kakashi admitted. "Good to see you again too."

"I must ask, though," Gai frowned, "Why did Kimimaro and Haku choose not to use the Senju mansion?"

"…there are actually some serious problems with the foundations." Kakashi admitted. "It will cost a _lot_ of money to set right, especially unblocking the sewers and replacing the water mains."

"…ah."

"…indeed."

.

* * *

.

"I think that you are almost ready to take the Hat." Hiruzen smiled proudly. "I trust that you will not mind if I stay on just long enough to oversee the graduation of the final class."

"Senju Ruto." Itachi noted and Hiruzen nodded. "I understand perfectly, sir."

"Of course, things will have to change a bit." Hiruzen looked at his two advisers. "For one, having your father as an Adviser would raise a few eyebrows…"

"Agreed." Itachi replied calmly. "My apologies, father, but…"

"I understand." Fugaku shrugged slightly. "I have no objections, but who do you intend to ask to take my place?"

"I was considering Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Tsume for the positions." Itachi admitted. "Between Shibi-san's logic and Tsume-san's bone-deep loyalty to Konoha, they should hopefully provide balancing views."

"And also bring the two clans closer." Hiashi gave a nod of approval. "The Aburame have often been seen as insular… quite a bit like _my_ clan, come to think of it."

"Ours, too." Fugaku admitted, a wry smile briefly appearing on his face.

.

* * *

.

Orochimaru stared at the paper, then up at the agent who had brought it to him.

"This is confirmed?"

The agent shrugged. "I don't know, sir. I was instructed to bring this to you. I wasn't told what was in it. What I don't know, I can't be made to reveal."

Orochimaru nodded in reluctant approval, then waved for the messenger to leave. If only his best spy wasn't currently stuck in Wave with his old team-mate…

Shaking off the rising anger, Orochimaru stalked through his base. Entering his private chambers, he dropped into a meditative pose and closed his eyes, re-opening them to find himself in a huge, dark chamber. A moment passed, then a chakra silhouette formed in front of him, eyes opening to reveal the rippled circles of the fabled _Rinnegan_.

"There has been a development, Pein-sama…" Orochimaru began.

.

* * *

.

Hinata smiled as she let Ruto escort her home. Now that the boy she adored and admired was residing in Konoha, she knew that the future would be brighter.

So much had changed. She often listened to the Elders talking about how there had been _two_ Hyuuga Clans before her kidnapping had forced the previously-resisted uniting of the branches. Some of the stories gave her chills, but now, the Hyuuga clan stood as one against the enemies of Konoha.

As she would stand beside the boy who helped save her years ago and who resided in her heart.

And when the time came, her father had promised to petition the Hokage to ensure that she was on the same team as him.

All was right with the world…


End file.
